Kashmir construction sparks China-India border standoff
‘The tactical minor skirmishes between the border troops of India and China have large latent shadows as these affect Indian illegal occupation of Kashmir and Siachen Glacier. Aksai Chin which was agreed upon between Pakistan and China to be a Chinese territory, also stands claimed by India’s ever growing lust for real estate. The new maps which Modi regime has made impinge on the sensibilities of Pakistan, China and Nepal. These maps will not stay. India is behaving not befitting its size and statesmanship expected from it.’
Indian observers say thousands of troops from both sides face each other in Galwan Valley following controversial Indian construction in high-altitude Ladakh area of India-administered Kashmir, scene of a brief but bloody war in 1962 that India lost.
A Himalayan border standoff between old foes China and India was triggered by India’s construction of roads and air strips in disputed Kashmir as it competes with China’s spreading Belt and Road initiative, Indian observers said.
Soldiers from both sides have been camped out in the Galwan Valley in the high-altitude Ladakh region of India-administered Kashmir, accusing each other of trespassing over the disputed frontier, the trigger of a brief but bloody war in 1962 that India lost.
About 80 to 100 tents have sprung up on the Chinese side and about 60 on the Indian side where soldiers are billeted, Indian officials briefed on the matter in New Delhi and in Ladakh’s capital, Leh, said. Both were digging defences and Chinese trucks have been moving equipment into the area, the officials said, raising concerns of a long faceoff.
Flare-up
“China is committed to safeguarding the security of its national territorial sovereignty, as well as safeguarding peace and stability in the China-India border areas,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s office said in a statement.
“At present, the overall situation in the border areas is stable and controllable. There are sound mechanisms and channels of communication for border-related affairs, and the two sides are capable of properly resolving relevant issues through dialogue and consultation.”
There was no immediate Indian foreign ministry comment.
It said last week Chinese troops had hindered regular Indian patrols along the de facto border Line of Actual Control (LAC).
But interviews with former Indian military officials and diplomats suggest the trigger for the flare-up is India’s construction of roads and air strips.
“Today, with our infrastructure reach slowly extending into areas along the LAC, the Chinese threat perception is raised,” said former Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao.
“Xi Jinping’s China is the proponent of a hard line on all matters of territory, sovereignty. India is no less when it comes to these matters either,” she said.
Controversial construction
After years of neglect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has pushed for improving connectivity and by 2022, 66 key roads along the Chinese border will have been built. One of these roads is near the Galwan valley that connects to Daulat Beg Oldi air base, which was inaugurated last October.
“The road is very important because it runs parallel to the LAC and is linked at various points with the major supply bases inland,” said Shyam Saran, another former Indian foreign secretary. “It remains within our side of the LAC. It is construction along this new alignment which appears to have been challenged by the Chinese.”
China’s Belt and Road is a string of ports, railways, roads and bridges connecting China to Europe via central and southern Asia and involving Pakistan, China’s close ally and India’s long-time foe.
Dispute over Kashmir
India and China engaged in a diplomatic war of words over disputed Kashmir last year when New Delhi unilaterally revoked the disputed region’s limited autonomy and split it into two federal territories Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir in a bid to annex both regions. That move was slammed by Pakistan, which administers a portion of Kashmir and claims the whole of Kashmir. It doesn’t claim a silver of the region, called Aksai Chin, that China controls since defeating India in 1962 war.
Islamabad’s ally China, which is locked in a decades-old dispute with India over the part of Kashmir called Ladakh, also slammed India for unilaterally changing the region’s status, saying “this is not effective in any way and will not change the fact that the area is under China’s actual control”.
“Currently, government sources assess there are close to 10,000 soldiers of China on Indian territory. Dialogue is frozen, with the Chinese rebuffing Indian calls for flag meetings to resolve the situation,” former Indian military officer and defence expert Ajai Shukla wrote in Business Standard.
‘When Modi threatens Pakistan on Indus water China plays with Brahmaputra water upstream. When Modi puts pressure on Nepal to change the border at Lipulekh China crosses LAC and intrudes Indian controlled are in Ladakh. China’s plan is simple – To put Modi in his place!‘ (Ashok Swain) (Source: TRT WORLD)
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Massive eruption: The death of an African-American man George Floyd’s in Minneapolis
Protesters Demand Justice For George Floyd. ‘Nothing else we can do to let our voices be heard’:
Protesters say violent riots the only way to get George Floyd justice.
The death of George Floyd, an African-American man, occurred in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, when Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; 2 minutes and 53 seconds of which occurred after Floyd became unresponsive, according to the criminal complaint filed against Chauvin. Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the road, while Chauvin had his knee on his neck. The three other arresting officers were identified as Thomas K. Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng. Officer Kueng held Floyd’s back while Lane held his legs, and Thao stood nearby and looked on. The four officers were fired the next day.
The incident occurred during Floyd’s arrest in Powderhorn, a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was recorded on smartphones of bystanders. The arrest was conducted after Floyd allegedly attempted to use a $20 bill in a deli, which an employee identified as counterfeit. Police alleged that Floyd “physically resisted” after being ordered to exit his vehicle before the video was filmed. Surveillance footage from a nearby restaurant, however, contradicts this claim, with Floyd shown falling twice while being escorted by the officers. Video recording by a witness, showing the arrested Floyd repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe”, was widely circulated on social media platforms and broadcast by the media.
As protesters converged on the White House on Friday, the New York Times reports, “Secret Service agents abruptly rushed the president to the underground bunker used in the past during terrorist attacks.”
Hardened to withstand the force of a passenger jet crashing into the White House, the bunker is the same one that sheltered vice president Dick Cheney during the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. “The president and his family were rattled by their experience on Friday night, according to several advisers,” the Times report said.
Trump has been widely criticized for his response to the protests that have rocked the nation since video of Floyd’s death began spreading on social media.
Despite days of peaceful protests and violent clashes with police in some of America’s major cities, Trump has not addressed the nation and has repeatedly sent inflammatory messages over Twitter.
Late on Friday, Trump tweeted that protesters could have been attacked with “vicious dogs and ominous weapons” wielded by the US Secret Service and accused the DC mayor for supposedly not providing police to protect the White House.
“They let the ‘protesters’ scream and rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn’t know what hit them,” Trump said.
“If they had [breached the fence],” the president continued, “they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That’s when people would have been really badly hurt, at least.”
The president has spoken to George Floyd’s grieving family, but according to Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, the conversation was brief. “He didn’t give me an opportunity to even speak,” Floyd told MSNBC.
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US to remove Patriots, other military assets from Saudi Arabia
(07 May 2020) The United States is reportedly removing Patriot anti-missile systems, along with other military assets, from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it winds down a military build-up that began when tensions with Iran flared up last year.
The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous US officials, reported that four batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, meant to protect ground assets from missile and aircraft attacks, will be removed from Saudi oil facilities. Dozens of military personnel deployed along with the batteries will also be reassigned, officials told the WSJ.
The redeployment of the Patriot systems, which now is under way, has not been previously disclosed. Two squadrons of US fighter jets have already left the region, and US officials are said to be considering a reduction in the US Navy presence in the Gulf. The reductions are said to be based on assessments by some officials that Tehran no longer poses an immediate threat to US strategic interests.
Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency. Iran has denied taking part in the attack on Saudi oil facilities.
US officials said they believe that a January strike that killed Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani, along with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has hobbled Iran, have reduced Tehran’s capabilities in the region. Pentagon planners are considering shifting the limited assets to deal with other priorities, including efforts to counter expanding Chinese military influence in Asia. The traditionally warm relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia has been strained in recent weeks, as the price of oil crashed because of a Saudi oil price war with Russia and cratering demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many US oil firms are facing bankruptcy, and US politicians from President Donald Trump on down are under pressure to help curtail imports from the kingdom. (SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS)
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Taliban founder’s son appointed military chief of insurgents
(By Ben Farmer 7 May 2020) The son of the Afghan Taliban’s late founder has been appointed as the insurgents’ military chief in a political reshuffle to check the power of his predecessor, senior militant figures have said. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob has been announced head of the military commission for the movement trying to overthrown the internationally-backed government in Afghanistan.
His appointment was confirmed as the militants have significantly ramped up attacks following a withdrawal agreement with America. The appointment of the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the one-eyed founder of the Taliban, reins in the former military leader Sardar Ibrahim as the movement closes in on negotiations with the Afghan government. (Source; The Telegraph)
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19 Iranians killed, 15 injured after Navy vessel hit by friendly fire
By TZVI JOFFRE | MAY 10, 2020
Nineteen Iranians were killed and 15 others were injured after an Iranian naval vessel was reportedly hit by friendly fire during a naval exercise on Sunday 10 May. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that the “accident” involving the Konarak support vessel took place in the waters off Jask Port in the Gulf of Oman. Two of the wounded are in intensive care units and the others are in stable condition, according to Fars News Agency. The military stressed that the incident was being investigated by “expert teams” and that “any speculation” about the incident should be avoided.
Initial reports from Iran stated that the Konarak was “sunk” by a missile fired by Iran’s Jamaran frigate resulting in a number of seamen being killed or missing, according to Radio Farda. Some reports indicated dozens of injuries and deaths, with about 40 military personnel estimated to have been on board at the time. Some reports indicated that the Konarak had brought a target to the area for the test launch of a cruise missile, but was not completely out of the way before the missile was fired.
The Konarak was considered a light support vessel and can carry dozens of crew, but it is unclear how many personnel were on board. The Jamaran, Iran’s first domestically built destroyer, carries about 120 personnel and is armed with surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes and modern naval cannons, according to Iran’s Press TV. It has been armed with the Noor surface-to-surface cruise missile as well. (Source: Reuters)
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India chemical plant leaks toxic gas again, hours after 11 killed
(Thu, 8 May 2020) Toxic gas began leaking again from a factory owned by LG Chem in India, an official said, triggering a wider evacuation after at least 11 people were killed following a leak from the site.
“The situation is tense,” district fire officer N Surendra Anand told Reuters news agency early on Friday, adding that people in a 5km (3 mile) radius of the factory in the east coast city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state were being moved out.
Hours earlier, authorities had said that the situation was under control at the plant on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, where a leak early on Thursday sickened hundreds of people.
The factory is operated by LG Polymers, a unit of South Korea’s biggest petrochemical maker, LG Chem Ltd.
The commissioner of the Visakhapatnam city corporation said styrene leaked from the plant during the early hours of the morning, when families in the surrounding villages were asleep. Srijana Gummalla told Reuters the plant had been reopened in the past few days after India relaxed a nationwide lockdown, that was imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. “We are looking into the exact damages, cause of the death and details of the incident,” LG Chem said in a statement.
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Nepal protests over border roads to India, citing invasion
(May 9, 2020) The Wire news portal reported that Nepal has protested against India over a border road which it alleges crosses its land. It said the protest also stemmed from a new map of the area that India drew in December of last year after the bifurcation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.
“Rumblings in Nepal about the boundary with India have now resulted in a full-scale eruption since India inaugurated a new road in Uttarakhand which leads to territory that is claimed by Kathmandu, near the border with China,” The Wire said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated by videoconference the road between Dharchula and Lipu Lekh, which will reduce the length of the Hindu pilgrimage of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra inside China by several days.
Nepalese opposition leaders immediately raised the pitch, asking for the government to clear its public stance. A day later, Nepal’s foreign ministry expressed “regret” at India’s “unilateral act” and called upon India to refrain from carrying out any activity on Nepalese territory, portal said.
In a lengthy statement, Nepal’s foreign ministry reminded that Nepal claims all territories east of Mahakali river, “including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh” as per the 1816 Sugauli Treaty”.
“This was reiterated by the Government of Nepal several times in the past and most recently through a diplomatic note addressed to the Government of India dated 20 November 2019 in response to the new political map issued by the latter,” the statement said.
“The context of the last diplomatic note is that months ago, India had issued a new political map to show the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two new Union Territories. In it, it depicted Kalapani as part of Indian territory, which led to a strong objection from Nepal,” The Wire said.
It further pointed out that when India and China had agreed to include Lipu Lekh pass as a bilateral trade route in a May 2015 joint statement, Nepal had issued separate diplomatic protest notes to the two Asian giants for not obtaining Kathmandu’s consent. On the latest move, Nepal stated: “This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries including at the level of prime ministers that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation.”
Stating that Nepal sought a diplomatic solution in the spirit of friendly relations, its foreign ministry asserted: “In light of this development, the Government of Nepal calls upon the Government of India to refrain from carrying out any activity inside the territory of Nepal.”
The Kathmandu Post had reported that Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi spoke to Indian Ambassador Vinay Kwatra. The statement issued in Kathmandu also reiterated that Nepal had twice proposed dates for holding meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two sides after the Kalapani controversy gathered momentum last year.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali had told visiting Indian journalists in February that if India could solve longstanding and complex boundary disputes with Bangladesh, then it should be able to do so with Nepal. He had also highlighted that India had still not given a concrete response for a meeting of the two foreign secretaries. ( Source: The Kathmandu Post )
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Rwanda’s most-wanted genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga arrested in France
French police have arrested Rwandan businessman Felicien Kabuga, believed to a key financier of the country’s 1994 genocide. He was found living under a false name in an apartment near Paris after decades on the run.
Felicien Kabuga, once one of the richest men in Rwanda, was detained by French security forces. He had been pursued by international justice for 25 years over crimes allegedly committed during the country’s civil war.
According to Rwandan prosecutors, Kabuga used his companies to import machetes and gardening tools knowing they would be used as weapons in the wave of violence that killed some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus in the East African country. He is believed to have established the notorious Interahamwe militia and provided training and equipment used in the massacres.
“Felicien Kabuga is known to have been the financier of the Rwandan genocide,” French police said in a statement.
Kabuga was also behind the creation of Radio Television Mille Collines that broadcast propaganda to incite the violence during the deadly 100-day killing spree.
Most wanted man : In 1997, the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda indicted Kabuga on charges related to conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution and extermination. He became Rwanda’s most-wanted man and is the subject of a $5 million (€4.6 million) bounty offered by the United States. In 2015, the Rwanda tribunal formally closed and its cases have been given over to Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT).
The 1994 genocide was triggered by the assassination of then-president Juvenal Habyarimana. At the time, Kabuga was part of Habyarimana’s inner circle and his daughter was married to one of the president’s sons. Two other top suspects linked with the Rwanda genocide – former defense minister Augustin Bizmana and military leader Protais Mpiranya – remain at large.
(Source: AFP, Reuters, AP)
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American billionaires got $434 billion richer during the pandemic
THU, MAY 21 2020 | By : Robert Frank
KEY POINTS
U.S. billionaires saw their fortunes soar by $434 billion during the nation’s lockdown between mid-March and mid-May, according to a new report.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg had the biggest gains.
Bezos added $34.6 billion to his wealth and Zuckerberg picked up $25 billion.
America’s billionaires saw their fortunes soar by $434 billion during the U.S. lockdown between mid-March and mid-May, according to a new report.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg had the biggest gains, with Bezos adding $34.6 billion to his wealth and Zuckerberg adding $25 billion, according to the report from Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies’ Program for Inequality. The report is based on Forbes data for America’s more than 600 billionaires between March 18, when most states were in lockdown, and May 19.
The billionaire gains highlight how the coronavirus pandemic has rewarded the largest and most tech-focused companies, even as the economy and labor force grapples with the worst economic crisis in recent history.
According to the report, the net worth of America’s billionaires grew 15% during the two-month period, to $3.382 trillion from $2.948 trillion. The biggest gains were at the top of the billionaire pyramid, with the richest five billionaires — Bezos, Bill Gates, Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, and Larry Ellison — seeing combined wealth gains of $76 billion.
Elon Musk had among the largest percentage gain of billionaires during the two months, seeing his net worth jump by 48% in the two months to $36 billion. Zuckerberg was close behind, seeing his wealth surge by 46% in the two months, to $80 billion. Bezos’ wealth increased by 31% to $147 billion. Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, who received Amazon shares in their divorce, also saw her wealth increase by a third, to $48 billion.
Because the study timeline captures the stock market bottom and quick rebound, it creates a slightly sunnier picture for billionaires than the full year. For the year, Buffett’s wealth has declined by $20 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, while Gates is down by $4.3 billion. For the year, Jeff Bezos has gained $35.5 billion while Zuckerberg is up by $9 billion.
There were some losers during the two-month period, especially for billionaires in the travel, hospitality or retail business who have yet to see their stocks and companies recover. Ralph Lauren saw his wealth drop by $100 million to $5.6 billion, while hotelier John Pritzker saw his wealth drop by $34 million to $2.56 billion.’Courtesy CNBC NEWS)
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Kim Jong-un calls for stronger NUCLEAR WAR DETERRENT, vows to put strategic forces on HIGH ALERT state media
(24 May, 2020) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has urged his army’s top brass to boost the country’s “strategic forces” and put them on high alert, as reports that he may be seriously ill have yet to cease completely. The call-to-arms was made at a high-profile gathering of military commanders and members of North Korea’s security services, state news agency KCNA reported.
Presided over by Kim Jong-un, the meeting focused on “the persistent military threats, big or small, of the hostile forces” and ways to “reliably contain these,” the agency reported without directly quoting the commander-in-chief.
Ramping up the army’s firepower and the “strike ability” of its artillery units was one of the matters discussed by military leaders, with the talks proceeding to other, much more powerful means of warfare.
New policies were put forth at the meeting to further increase the nuclear war deterrent of North Korea, and put the strategic armed forces on a high alert in line with the general requirements of the building and development of the armed forces of the country.
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China’s parliament approves Hong Kong national security bill
National People’s Congress votes 2,878 to 1 in favour of decision to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong. China’s parliament has approved a decision to move forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong that critics fear could undermine the city’s autonomy. China says the new law will be aimed at tackling secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the city but the plan, unveiled in Beijing last week, triggered the first big protests in Hong Kong for months.
(SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES)
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North Pole’s Largest-ever Ozone Hole Finally Closes
By Brandon Specktor, SPACE.com on May 5, 2020
After looming above the Arctic for nearly a month, the single largest ozone hole ever detected over the North Pole has finally closed, researchers from the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) reported.
“The unprecedented 2020 Northern Hemisphere ozone hole has come to an end,” CAMS researchers tweeted on April 23.
The hole in the ozone layera portion of Earth’s atmosphere that shields the planet from ultraviolet radiationfirst opened over the Arctic in late March when unusual wind conditions trapped frigid air over the North Pole for several weeks in a row.
Those winds, known as a polar vortex, created a circular cage of cold air that led to the formation of high-altitude clouds in the region. The clouds mixed with man-made pollutants like chlorine and bromine, eating away at the surrounding ozone gas until a massive hole roughly three times the size of Greenland opened in the atmosphere, according to a statement from the European Space Agency (ESA). ‘Courtesy Space.com, a Future company’
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NASA resumes human spaceflight from U.S. soil with historic SpaceX launch
By Joey Roulette
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – SpaceX, the private rocket company of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, launched two Americans into orbit from Florida on Saturday 30th May, in a landmark mission marking the first spaceflight of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil in nine years. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:22 p.m. EDT (1922 GMT), launching Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on a 19-hour ride aboard the company’s newly designed Crew Dragon capsule bound for the International Space Station.
Just before liftoff, Hurley said, “SpaceX, we’re go for launch. Let’s light this candle,” paraphrasing the famous comment uttered on the launch pad in 1961 by Alan Shepard, the first American flown into space. Minutes after launch, the first-stage booster rocket of the Falcon 9 separated from the upper second-stage rocket and flew itself back to Earth to descend safely onto a landing platform floating in the Atlantic. High above the Earth, the Crew Dragon jettisoned moments later from the second-stage rocket, sending the capsule on its way to the space station.
The exhilarating spectacle of the rocket soaring flawlessly into the heavens came as a welcome triumph for a nation gripped by racially-charged civil unrest as well as ongoing fear and economic upheaval from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Falcon 9 took off from the same launch pad used by NASA’s final space shuttle flight, piloted by Hurley, in 2011. Since then, NASA astronauts have had to hitch rides into orbit aboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. “It’s incredible, the power, the technology,” said U.S. President Donald Trump, who was at Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida for the launch. “That was a beautiful sight to see.”