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Taliban expects new US admin to retain Doha Pact

In a statement on, the Taliban has assured the new US administration, which will come to power in January 2021, of remaining committed to the implementation of the Doha peace agreement, saying it was an “excellent document” to end the decades-long war in Afghanistan.

In the statement, the group said the implementation of the US-Taliban agreement “is the most reasonable and effective tool for ending the conflict with the US”, referring to their fight against American forces, TOLO News reported.

“We remain committed to the agreement on our part and view it as a powerful basis for solving the Afghan issue and we also give preference to solving our internal problems through dialogue and negotiations,” it added.

In a historic move, the Taliban signed the peace deal with the US on February 29, under which the militant group will not attack American forces inside Afghanistan.

The agreement also requires the withdrawal of American troops within 14 months since the intimation of peace process.

The peace negotiations were inaugurated in Doha on September 12 with the hope to end the four decades of war in the country.

Negotiating teams representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban held more than 10 meetings. But direct negotiations were yet to begin.

Tuesday’s statement came two days after the Taliban said that Biden should respect the Doha Agreement because it was not made with a single person but with the American government, the media reported on Monday.

A spokesman for the Taliban told the media that when the new US administration comes in power, it will need to acclaim the agreement, reports Khaama Press.

Taliban hopes that the Biden administration will abide by the Doha Peace protocols, the spokesman said.

The two developments come amidst a sharp increase in Taliban attacks on Afghan forces in many parts of the country.

Also Read: Khalilzad urges Taliban to stick to the peace deal

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Russia deploys troops in Nagorno-Karabakh after ceasefire

Moscow has started deploying 1,960 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday….reports Asian Lite News

Russia has deployed peacekeepers in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as a “complete ceasefire” which came into effect on Tuesday midnight was agreed by the two warring countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia, President Vladimir Putin said.

In a televised address on Monday night, Putin said that he signed an agreement with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declaring a “complete cessation of fire and all hostilities” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, reports Xinhua news agency.

Azerbaijan and Armeniaalso agreed to stop at their positions they have held, Putin said.

Moscow has started deploying 1,960 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

A Russian peacekeeping contingent is being deployed consisting of 1,960 military personnel, 90 armoured personnel carriers, 380 vehicles and pieces of special equipment, the Ministry said.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Armenia will exchange war prisoners, other detained persons and bodies of the dead, while all economic and transport links of the region will be unblocked, according to the Russian leader.

Internally displaced persons and refugees will return to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding areas under the care of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Putin said.

“We presume that the agreements will create the necessary conditions for a long-term and full-format settlement of the crisis around Nagorno-Karabakh on a just basis and in the interests of the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples,” the President added.

This is the fourth ceasefire since last month.

The three others — two brokered by Russia (October 10, 17) and one by the US (October 26) — collapsed after Armenia and Azerbaijan traded accusations and attacks.

A new round of armed conflict broke out on September 27 along the contact line of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but mostly governed by the Republic of Artsakh, a de facto independent state with an Armenian ethnic majority.

The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, April 2016 and in July this year.

Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the region in 1988-94, eventually declaring a ceasefire.

However, a settlement was never reached.

Also read:Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs meet Pompeo in Washington

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1st lawsuit filed against Israeli settlers in West Bank

“The lawsuit includes a claim for compensation for the material loss and moral damage caused by the settlers’ demolition of the house built in Area B,” Mansour added….reports Asian Lite News

For the first time since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1994, a Palestinian man in the West Bank has filed a lawsuit against Israeli settlers who “vandalised” his home.

Muntaser Mansour, the 30-year-old owner of a 170-square-meter home under construction in the village of Burin, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, told Xinhua news agency on Monday that he demands compensation for the damage caused by the Israeli settlers.

“The lawsuit includes a claim for compensation for the material loss and moral damage caused by the settlers’ demolition of the house built in Area B,” Mansour added.

Under the Oslo peace accords signed between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993, the West Bank was divided into three areas: Area A under the full control of the PA, Area B under joint Israeli-Palestinian control, and Area C under full Israeli control.

Mansour said that he demands compensation also because he has been deprived of the rights to build the house for eight years which forced his family to live in a rented house.

Mansour, whose house is located in an area between two Israeli settlements, accused the Israeli authorities and settlers of preventing him from rebuilding his house in a bid to link the two settlements.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has built dozens of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which have been one of the major disputes between Israel and the PA that has stalled the peace process.

The Palestinian cabinet recently decided to form a national team to prosecute Israeli settlers accused of committing crimes against the Palestinian residents in the Palestinian courts.

Minister of Justice Mohammed al-Shalaldeh told Xinhua that the international law and international humanitarian law regulate the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians.

In the Oslo accords, there is a provision for civil jurisdiction over the Israelis’ damage caused to the Palestinians, he noted.

The Minister added that the legal basis of these lawsuits are not the Oslo accords, but the international law.

Also read:Palestine congratulates Biden, expects change

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Iranian FM to visit Pakistan

He is being accompanied by a delegation comprising political and economic experts….reports Asian Lite News

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will arrive in Islamabad on Tuesday on a two-day visit, during which he will hold talks on regional issues and bilateral ties with senior Pakistani officials.

Zarif is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Dawn news reported.

He is being accompanied by a delegation comprising political and economic experts.

Zarif has maintained close coordination with Islamabad over the past few years and regularly visited Pakistan.

He last visited Pakistan in May 2019.

Also read:Iran calls on US to stop ‘economic war’

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Asia News COVID-19

Israel builds Covid testing lab at airport

The lab will be officially launched on Monday, in a ceremony to be attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, transportation and health ministers, and senior IAA officials…reports Asian Lite News

Israel has completed the setup of a coronavirus testing laboratory at Ben Gurion International Airport near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, the Israeli testing company Omega said on Sunday.

The lab was established and will be operated by Omega, in collaboration with the northern Rambam Medical Center, after winning a tender issued by the Israel Airport Authority (IAA).

The lab will be officially launched on Monday, in a ceremony to be attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, transportation and health ministers, and senior IAA officials, according to the prime minister’s spokesperson.

The samples will be taken at test booths set up at Terminal 3, the airport’s main terminal, Xinhua reported.

The prices of the PCR tests will be 135 new shekels (around 40 US dollars) for a rapid test, with results given in four hours, and 44.88 shekels for a standard 14-hour test.

Passengers who register in advance will be able to take the test without leaving their cars, in a designated drive-in complex set up at the airport.

The test results will be used by passengers traveling to countries that require negative test results for entering their territory.

The lab will also be used to conduct tests for arriving passengers that have visited countries with high COVID-19 morbidity so that they would not need to undergo a 14-day quarantine in case of negative results.

Also read:Israel partially reopens schools

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Israeli union calls for strike over payments

On Sunday, the union announced a general labour dispute, meaning that in 14 days it can legally launch a general strike that will shut down the whole Israeli economy…reports Asian Lite News

Israel’s largest worker union Histadrut has threatened to launch a nationwide strike, demanding to pay wages to workers obliged to undergo quarantine amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Sunday, the union announced a general labour dispute, meaning that in 14 days it can legally launch a general strike that will shut down the whole Israeli economy, reports Xinhua news agency.

In late September, Histadrut, the Ministry of Finance, and the employers’ representatives reached an agreement on how to divide the burden of payments for quarantine days, but the outline has not been put to a vote in Parliament yet.

“So far, no solution has been found, leaving workers in an impossible situation, with severe damage to their day-to-day viability,” the union said in a statement.

Arnon Bar David, chairman of Histadrut, said that “the purpose of the labour dispute we have declared today is not to shut down the country but to protect the workers”.

Also read:5th Israeli Minister tests positive for Covid 19

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Iran calls on US to stop ‘economic war’

The US should compensate for losses that Tehran has suffered due to Washington’s economic pressures, the spokesman added…reports Asian Lite News

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has called for a cessation of the US economic pressures against the Islamic Republic.

The US administration “must make up for its past measures and stop its economic war against the Islamic Republic”, Xinhua news agency quoted Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying to the media on Sunday.

“We are waiting for practical steps” to be taken by the US, said Khatibzadeh, adding that Washington should commit its international obligations.

It was the US that “violated” its obligations pertaining to Iran’s nuclear deal, he said.

The US should also compensate for losses that Tehran has suffered due to Washington’s economic pressures, the spokesman added.

US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018 and announced “maximum pressure” campaign to impose tough sanctions against Iran’s oil, banking, insurance, shipping and auto sectors.

Last month, the US imposed a number of sanctions targeting Iran’s financial and the oil sector.

Separately, it also designated five Iranian entities for “attempting to influence” the November 3 American presidential election.

Also read:Iraqi forces carry out major anti-IS offensive

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Asia News COVID-19

5th Israeli Minister tests positive for Covid 19

Last month, Gila Gamliel, the Environmental Protection Minister, announced that she has been infected with the virus….reports Asian Lite News

A fifth Israeli Minister has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, his office confirmed in a statement on Monday, adding he was self-quaranting at home.

Minister of Regional Cooperation Ofir Akunis “immediately entered quarantine at his home, in accordance with the Health Ministry’s instructions”, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

“He feels well and continues to manage the Ministry’s affairs from home,” it added.

The Ministry of Regional Cooperation is responsible for promoting cooperation with the countries in the Mediterranean Basin as well as the Palestinian Authority.

Last month, Gila Gamliel, the Environmental Protection Minister, announced that she has been infected with the virus.

In August, Minister of Immigration and Integration Pnina Tamano-Shata, Walid Taha, a MP for the Arab-Israeli party Joint List, and Minister for Jerusalem and Heritage Rafi Peretz had contracted the disease.

Israel has so far registered more than 320,000 coronavirus cases and 2,674 deaths.

Also read:Israel set to commence agro exports to the UAE

Also read:Israel partially reopens schools

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Trump admin to hit Iran with ‘flood of sanctions’

According to the sources, US envoy for Iran Elliott Abrams arrived in Israel on Sunday and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to discuss the plan….reports Asian Lite News

US President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to impose a “flood of sanctions” on Iran by January 20, 2021, after it recently recently targeted the Islamic Republic’s oil and financial sectors, a media report said.

The administration, in coordination with Israel and several Gulf states, is pushing for the new sanctions, informed Israeli sources told the Virginia-based Axios media outlet on Sunday.

According to the sources, US envoy for Iran Elliott Abrams arrived in Israel on Sunday and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to discuss the plan.

On Monday, Abrams will meet Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi to brief them on the proposal, the sources told Axios.

After Israel, the envoy is scheduled to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to discuss the sanctions plan.

The development comes several days after Abrams said at a closed briefing that the Trump administration wants to announce a new set of sanctions on Iran every week until January 20, when President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the new American President, another informed source told Axios.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to arrive in Israel on November 18.

On October 8, the US designated 18 major banks of Iran, and a few days later on October 22, new sanctions were imposed on five Iranian entities for “attempting to influence” the November 3 American presidential election.

On October 27, the US imposed fresh sanctions against the Iranian oil sector, for its “financial support” to Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

Also read:Trump will lose special privileges on Twitter

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Erdogan stays quiet on Biden’s victory

Turkey stands to lose more than most other countries from Biden’s victory as he is expected to toughen the US stance against President Tayyip Erdogan…reports Asian Lite News

Turkey gave an impassive first reaction on Sunday to Joe Biden’s presidential win. Arab news reports

Vice President Fuat Oktay said it would not change relations between the old allies although Ankara will keep pressing Washington on Syria and other policy differences.

Turkey stands to lose more than most other countries from Biden’s victory as he is expected to toughen the US stance against President Tayyip Erdogan’s foreign military interventions and closer cooperation with Russia.

Another major stumbling block is Washington’s refusal to extradite US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara says orchestrated a failed coup in 2016.

Last Month, the United States has demanded that Turkey pull back an energy research ship that it has sent back to waters contested with Greece, calling the move a “calculated provocation.”

In a strongly worded statement, the State Department said the US “deplores” the decision by Turkey that came just after tensions with Greece had subsided, reports Arab News

.

“We urge Turkey to end this calculated provocation and immediately begin exploratory talks with Greece,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

“Turkey’s announcement unilaterally raises tensions in the region and deliberately complicates the resumption of crucial exploratory talks between our NATO allies Greece and Turkey,” she said.

Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez announced the return to its seismic survey vessel, the Oruc Reis, to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to resume its activities.

Donmez said on his Twitter account that the vessel raised the anchor to “take the X-ray of the Mediterranean” following the completion of its maintenance works, reports Xinhua news agency.

Also read:SPECIAL: Medical Tourism in Turkey