Category: Asia News

In a letter published by the office, Putin told Netanyahu that he is looking forward to extending their joint work in 2021 to “build up the entire range of bilateral ties, as well as interaction in addressing urgent issues on the regional and global agenda”…reports Asian Lite News

In a phone call, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed regional developments and ways to increase stability in the Middle East, according to an official statement issued here.

“The two discussed the situation in Syria, developments in the region and the actions necessary to increase regional stability,” Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office as saying following the call on Monday.

In a letter published by the office, Putin told Netanyahu that he is looking forward to extending their joint work in 2021 to “build up the entire range of bilateral ties, as well as interaction in addressing urgent issues on the regional and global agenda”.

During the call, the two leaders also exchanged New Year greetings.

The Russian and Israeli armies have been coordinating their moves in Syria to avoid clashes.

Russian forces have fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, while Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in the war-torn country against what it claims are Iranian targets and weapons convoys to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and political party.

Also read:Netanyahu gets Covid-19 vaccine

The remarks by the Iranian official came in response to a Washington Post report on December 23 which claimed that an Israeli submarine had embarked for the Gulf as a warning to Iran…reports Asian Lite News

Iran will give a “strong and massive” response to any Israeli submarine in the Gulf, a security official announced here.

“Israel must know that our response to aggression against our national security will be strong and massive,” Xinhua news agency quoted Abolfazl Amouei, spokesman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, as saying on Monday.

The remarks by the Iranian official came in response to a Washington Post report on December 23 which claimed that an Israeli submarine had embarked for the Gulf as a warning to Iran.

“Israel is looking for excuses to drag the region into a tension that creates chaos in the last days of (the US President Donald) Trump presidency,” Amouei said.

He also warned the neighbouring Arab countries that bringing Israel too close to Iran’s borders might create problems for them.

On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also elaborated on the issue, describing the Washington Post’s report as a “media assumption”.

Any risk for the Gulf security is “crossing Iran’s redlines”, he stressed.

Also read:Chinese envoy calls on Iran to return to nuke deal

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement that the three South Korean nationals who had stayed in London and arrived here on December 22 tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain…reports Asian Lite News

South Korea on Monday registered the country’s first cases from a more transmissible Covid-19 variant detected in three people who returned from the UK, where the strain was discovered last week.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement that the three South Korean nationals who had stayed in London and arrived here on December 22 tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain, reports Xinhua news agency.

The three people were confirmed to be infected when they took tests after arrival, and have been under quarantine.

Four other South Koreans, who arrived here on November 8 and December 13 from Britain, also tested positive for the virus and have been under investigation to ascertain if they were infected with the new variant.

Among them, one man in his 80s had posthumously tested positive.

His three other family members were also infected with the virus.

The new strain, found in Britain, is known to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than the old one.

South Korea announced a plan to suspend all flights from Britain between December 23 to 31.

In the latest tally, the country reported 808 new cases, raising the total number of infections to 57,680.

The daily caseload stayed below 1,000 for two days.

Eleven more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 819.

Also read:South Korea fines Facebook for sharing private information

In 2019, Turkey and Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two memorandums of understanding on military cooperation and maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean….reports Asian Lite News

Any attack by the forces of the Khalifa Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA) on Turkish troops in the North African country would be retaliated, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

“A war criminal, murderer Haftar and his supporters must know that they will be seen as a legitimate target in case of an attack on Turkish troops by his forces,” Xinhua news agency quoted Akar as saying while addressing Turkish soldiers in Libya, according to a video tweeted by Turkey’s Defence Ministry on Sunday.

The Minister cited that a few days ago Haftar made calls targeting Turkish forces in Libya.

In 2019, Turkey and Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two memorandums of understanding on military cooperation and maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Nearly 3,000 Libyans received training within the scope of the agreement, Akar also said.

Libya plunged into chaos after the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi’s government in 2011, witnessing prolonged conflict between the eastern-based LNA and the GNA in the country’s west.

On October 23, the Libyan delegations to the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva signed a UN-sponsored permanent ceasefire agreement.

In November, the Joint Military Commission agreed on terms for the ceasefire implementation in the country, including the return of forces back to their camps and the withdrawal of foreign forces from conflict lines.

The delegations also agreed to exchange all prisoners, remove landmines in cooperation with the UN teams and the General Intelligence Service, and combat hate speech.

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