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Afshain Afzal
Srinagar, 21 January (TON): In their fresh act of state terrorism by Indian Army, they martyred two more Kashmiri in Pulwama district, bringing total martyrdom to 9 Kashmiris till 21st January this year..
In the notorious joint search and cordon operation launched by the personnel of Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Operation Group (SOG) in Awanitpora area of Srinagar district. The operation was carried out in retaliation of death of a Special Police Officer (SPO) and an Indian soldier during a crossing firing between CRPF and Army personnel in an attack in the same area.
Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in the funeral ceremony three other youth martyred in Shopian and Pulwama districts on 20th January. Anti-India, pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans were raised on the occasion. The Kashmiris vowed that they would not allow Indian occupying forces to observe India’s Republic Day celebrations on the territories of Jammu & Kashmir state.
Udhampur, 21 January (TON): An Indian Army soldier committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle in a camp in Udhampur
district in troubled Indian occupied Jammu and state.
Police authorities said, Sepoy Prince Kumar (25), a resident of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, was posted in 112 Territorial Army Regiment and was on guard duty when he shot himself at Chinar camp in Rehambal area on Friday, 17th January. As per the details this is the third case of suicide in Indian Northern Command, where there is a wave of hatred against the Indian occupying forces by the local Kashmiris of Jammu & Kashmir state. Havaldar Kumar disclosed that his commanding officer abused him for not firing on the protesters.
The Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on Monday said "human error" was responsible for the downing of the Ukrainian plane in Tehran on January 8
and the possibility of a cyber-attack has been ruled out.
According to a report published by the Parliament news website, Mojtaba Zolnour, the Chairman of the Committee said military and civil aviation officials attended Sunday a special session to probe the crash incident.
Zolnour said in the meeting it was established that "human error" by the missile operator was responsible for the crash. The missile operator who targeted the plane took the decision to fire "on the basis of his own judgement".
Zolnour also said the possibility of electronic war and a cyber-attack causing the crash was also discussed and added: "This is out of the question so far, unless new information becomes available in the future to prove that there had been a cyberattack".
Earlier, several Iranian officials has suggested that a possible U.S. cyberattack might have played a role in the downing of the airliner.
Zolnour defended the Armed Forces against criticisms about concealing the reason for the plane crash and said those who make such criticism are neither aware of the level of expertise required in the process of examination of the crash nor of the time required for that.
The military admitted January 11 that it had known about a missile hitting the plane right after the incident.
According to Zolnour the Committee also heard the reasons for not stopping commercial flights in a tense situation after the attack on Iraqi bases that host U.S. troops hours before the crash. "It was predicted that the United States might react [to the Iranian missile attack] so all missile operators had been told to be fully prepared," he said and added that disruption of communication between the operator and the control and command network has not been proven yet.
The operator of the missile should not have fired without authorization even if there was no communication with the defense command and control, the Chairman of the National Security Committee said.
The Summit will be hosted by the Prime Minister on 20 January 2020, and will bring together businesses, governments and international institutions to promote and find opportunities of investment across Africa. It is interesting to note that UK wants to boost business trade with Africa but at the same time UK plans to leave the European Union at the end of January 2021. Hence trade relations between the UK and Africa will remain effective for only 2020, like other deals conducted under the EU's with the continent. The African politicians and businessmen who gather in London for the UK-Africa Investment Summit were hung in uncertainty. However, UK’s International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss sid in a recent statement that the agreement "will allow businesses to keep trading after Brexit without any additional barriers". In September 2019, the UK initiated an Economic Partnership Agreement with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) - which is made up of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and eSwatini - and Mozambique.
UK forwarded invitations to over 21 African countries and many have shown their presence. However, the African countries have to bring changes in their policy, rules and regulations to allow former colonial power to get so close to the African economies. If we recall, Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum took place on 23–24 October in Sochi, where deals worth US$12.5 billion were signed in the form of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU). All 54 African states were represented officially, 45 of which were represented by their head of states including Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, the Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
CAIRO - 14 January 2020: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi agreed with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to intensify joint efforts to support Libyan political settlement
and reach a comprehensive solutions.
According to a statement of Egyptian Presidency Bassam Rady, official spokesman on Tuesday, the meeting came in light of the upcoming Berlin conference and within the framework of Rome's mediation efforts to solve the Libyan crisis.
The two sides also agreed that solving this issue will restore stability in Libya, support its national capabilities and institutions, and preserve its territorial integrity.
CAIRO - 14 January 2020: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi agreed with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to intensify joint efforts to support Libyan political settlement
and reach a comprehensive solutions.
According to a statement of Egyptian Presidency Bassam Rady, official spokesman on Tuesday, the meeting came in light of the upcoming Berlin conference and within the framework of Rome's mediation efforts to solve the Libyan crisis.
The two sides also agreed that solving this issue will restore stability in Libya, support its national capabilities and institutions, and preserve its territorial integrity.
US nationality holder Libyan Genaer Haftar, who agreed for a ceasefire on Tuesday left Moscow without signing
any agreement. UN-recognised government, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, and General Haftar were in Moscow on Monday for talks. It was a setback for an international diplomatic push by Turkey as Germany and Russia were interested in signing of ceasfire agreements in their countries.
Earlier, Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, warned he would “teach a lesson” to Haftar if his forces resumed fighting.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia that took effect from 12 January and were in Moscow to sign a long-term agreement. But after seven hours of negotiations, only Sarraj had signed up to the agreement while Haftar’s delegation left without signing the deal.
“We will pursue our efforts in this direction. For now, a definitive result has not been achieved,” the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said at a press conference in Sri Lanka.
General Haftar had reservations as according to him the agreement did not spell out a timeline for disbanding groups allied with Sarraj’s Government.
Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reacted angrily, saying in a televised speech: “We will not hesitate to teach a deserved lesson to the putschist Haftar if he continues his attacks on the country’s legitimate administration and our brothers in Libya.”
In a renewed move, one of the US destroyers ex US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which was been tasked to screen communication lines in the Arabian Sea, faced the first encounter with the Russian warship. The Russian presence is likely to be followed by the Chinese Naval presence and Type 095 submarines. It would interest many that US is trying to impose self-pronounced sanctions on Iran by preventing Tehran from the oil export. The heavy presence of Navy in the Indian Ocean is detrimental to peace and security of the region and is also causing negative impact on the environment.
Indeed, in the war no one is right or wrong but victorious are always pronounced as heroes and defeated as villains. One wonders the tension in region was already there when Saudi Arabia oil fields were attacked but Riyadh acted with wisdom and grace. Now it is time to follow the precedents of the Arabs and deescalate the tense security situation. There is no doubt that Iran has right to live as sovereign nation so is the case with all other nations. Foreign troops need to be withdraw from foreign lands to allow these countries to flourish and developed in a peaceful environment.
In line with series of new developments, re-positioning of US Naval fleets is rapidly taking place; a show of military force. UK, France and India are planning their presence in the Strait of Hormuz. US Carrier Strike Group and
A man called Trump, wanted the people of America to feel proud of being Americans. He planned honourable pullout from all foreign lands leaving behind mere security apparatus to protect American business interests. This strong charismatic man faced defeat everywhere because of rival Pentagon and US Intelligence apparatus
