Category: Asia News

Categories
-Top News Asia News

Myanmar won’t change its foreign policy

Myanmar will conduct friendly cooperation with all countries while the country’s foreign policy will not change, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said.

In his first televised message to the public after the declaration of a one-year state of emergency, he said that during the period, there will be no change in foreign, executive and economic policies, and Myanmar will continue its current political path, the Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

Min Aung Hlaing, in his capacity as chairperson of the State Administration Council, reiterated a five-point roadmap to be implemented during the state of emergency.

Myanmar army

Under the roadmap, the Union Election Commission, which was recently reformed, has been reviewing the electoral process of last year’s general elections, he said.

The ongoing preventive measures against Covid-19 will continue to be implemented without losing momentum, while emphasis will be put on distributing vaccines all over the country.

Arrangements are being made to help the businesses which were affected by Covid-19, the commander-in-chief said, calling for investment from both home and abroad.

The council’s chairperson stressed plans to achieve eternal peace across the country in accordance with a nationwide ceasefire agreement and called for cooperation of the ethnic people and ethnic armed organisations to achieve the lasting peace.

Photo taken on Feb. 1, 2021 shows a resting place for federal parliamentarians blocked by the military in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.(Photo by U Soe/Xinhua/ians)

The council will hold free and fair general elections and the power of the state will be handed over to the political party which wins the elections in line with democracy standards after tasks were accomplished under the state of emergency, he said.

The country declared the state of emergency after President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were detained by the military on February 1.

Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (R, front) lays a wreath during a ceremony to mark the 72nd Martyrs’ Day in Yangon, Myanmar. (Xinhua/U Aung/IANS)

The military had demanded the postponement of new parliamentary sessions, citing massive voting fraud in the November 2020 elections, which saw the National League for Democracy win a majority of seats in both houses of parliament. Myanmar’s Union Election Commission dismissed the allegation.

Peaceful protests across Myanmar continued on Monday. Demonstrators demanded the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, among others.

The Myanmar military called for stability, public security and rule of law in the country amid ongoing protests earlier on Monday.

Also Read-Poland, Germany, Sweden oust Russian diplomats

Categories
-Top News Asia News

Netanyahu pleads not guilty as trial resumes

Jerusalem, Sept. 13, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a briefing on COVID-19 pandemic in Israel at his office in Jerusalem, on Sept. 13, 2020. Israel will reimpose a nationwide lockdown for three weeks, beginning on Friday, to slow a rapid resurgence of coronavirus infections, the government decided on Sunday. (Yoav Dudkevitch/JINI via Xinhua/IANS)

Wearing a black mask, Netanyahu appeared in front of a three-judge panel at the Jerusalem District Court to officially deny the allegations against him…reports Asian Lite News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded not guilty at the resumption of his corruption trial in Jerusalem on Monday.

Wearing a black mask, Netanyahu appeared in front of a three-judge panel at the Jerusalem District Court to officially deny the allegations against him, the Xinhua news agency reported.

“I confirm the written answer submitted in my name,” Netanyahu said, referring to a document submitted by his lawyers in which they rejected the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

He left after about 20 minutes without providing an explanation, while his lawyers continued to argue on his behalf. The Hebrew-language Ha’aretz newspaper reported that the judges approved his departure.

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Yoav Dudkevitch/JINI via Xinhua/IANS)

His lawyers, Boaz Ben Zur and Amit Hadad, argued that constitutional procedures had been breached. The prosecution rejected the allegation and said the opening of the investigation was approved by Attorney General Avihai Mandelblit.

Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister stands to trial over corruption charges in three separate cases. According to his indictment, he accepted luxurious gifts from wealthy friends and offered regulatory benefits to media tycoons in return for favorable media coverage.

The 71-year-old leader has repeatedly that the allegations are part of “a witch hunt” orchestrated by the “leftist” media.

Netanyahu is the first serving prime minister to stand to trial in Israel.

On March 23, Israel will hold its fourth general elections in two years. Netanyahu is handling his trial while leading the struggle to curb the coronavirus spread and the ensuing economic crisis. He is facing weekly demonstrations throughout Israel calling him to resign.

Also read:Israel begins easing lockdown curbs

Categories
-Top News China Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka falling deep to China’s googly

A U-turn on the Colombo port’s East Container Terminal and then an attempt to create negativity around the India-supplied Covid-19 vaccine signals that there could be more powerful forces than just mere trade unions and some local groups which are nudging Sri Lanka to adopt an aggressive stand against India right now…reports Ateet Sharma.

Experts believe that Sri Lankan government’s decision to scrap an agreement with India and Japan to jointly run the East Container Terminal in the Lankan capital is a result of persistent external pressure applied by China which has developed high stakes in the country through its expansionist and debt trap Belt and Road Initiative.

It isn’t just about going back on its word in a Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the three countries in 2019. Efforts are also being made to give a spin to India’s noble gesture of donating five lakh doses of Covishield Covid-19 vaccine under the ongoing ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative.

The Island reported that Ravi Kumudesh, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science, has urged the government to give general public an access to “the most suitable” Covid-19 vaccine instead of the ones sent by India. Kumudesh questioned the decision of National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) to only register Covishield vaccine.

“Given that the Medical Research Institute (MRI) only checks documents, there can’t be a reason for the delay in registering other vaccines. We are glad that India gave us some vaccine doses for free, but we can’t just import more of the same without a proper study,” he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Sri Lanka

The statement would certainly disappoint India considering that in spite of a massive number of requests received from all over the world, the Narendra Modi government had prioritised Sri Lanka for the supply of the Indian vaccine and sent the first consignment of 5,00,000 doses as Indian grant on January 28.

The developments also raise a concern if the island nation, having already ceded control of its strategic port of Hambantota to China, is taking orders from Beijing, fulfilling its global agenda by becoming its pawn.

China has greatly enhanced its access to the Middle East through Pakistan’s Gwadar port and continues to play dangerous games in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) through its various projects, not just in Lanka but also Bangladesh (Chittagong and Mongla), Maldives (Feydhoo Finolhu Port), Myanmar (Kyaukphyu) and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

While Japan, which too has provided continuous support for the development of the Port of Colombo since the 1980s and also that of Port of Trincomalee, has reportedly “regretted” the Rajapaksa government’s move to scrap the deal, India is still hoping that Lanka would adhere to international commitments and reconsider its decision.

Not just as a part of the ongoing vaccine diplomacy, India had made its intentions of developing a closer bond with its neighbour clear with two high-profile visits to Colombo in the last few months to set the stage for an increased bilateral cooperation.

While National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had met all the key stakeholders in the island country on the sidelines of the NSA-level meeting on Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation last November, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also paid an official visit to Sri Lanka from January 5-7 January at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Dinesh Gunawardena.

Apart from holding talks with his counterpart, Jaishankar also discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues with Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During his three-day visit, the minister had also made a strong pitch for Tamil reconciliation by meeting the Tamil leadership — delegations of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil Progressive Alliance — in Colombo.

Yesterday, in a statement made in Rajya Sabha on the talks held between the two countries, the EAM reiterated that the Government of India has consistently called upon Sri Lanka during bilateral discussions at all levels to fulfill its commitments on addressing the issues related to protecting the interest of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

This, the minister said, was done during the visits of President and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to India in November 2019 and February 2020 respectively and during the recently held India- Sri Lanka Virtual Bilateral Summit on September 26, 2020 between the two Prime Ministers as also his own visit earlier this month.

“It is in Sri Lanka’s own interest that the expectations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united Sri Lanka are fulfilled. That applies equally to the commitments made by the Sri Lankan Government on meaningful devolution, including the 13th Amendment to the Constitution,” said Jaishankar.

Jaishankar’s statement assumes a great significance in the prevailing circumstances.

While Beijing has only taken advantage of its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, India has for last many decades played a major role in promoting peace and socio-economic development of Sri Lanka.

Much before the Chinese arrived, India batted for the strengthening of the regional connectivity which was a key to the peace and prosperity of the entire region.

All of it, and not just the freedom of the high seas and maritime order based on the rule of law but also Lanka’s political and economic development, will be in a grave danger if the current regime continues to fall to China’s googly.

Irrigation tunnel

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has inaugurated the construction of an irrigation tunnel to be undertaken by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd (CSCEC), local media reported.

On Friday, President Rajapaksa laid the foundation stone at the groundbreaking ceremony for the 28 km-long irrigation tunnel which stretches from Elahera Konduruwewa to Palugaswewa Mahamigaswewa and passes through three wildlife sanctuaries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Rajapaksa with Jaishankar

The tunnel is part of the North Central Province Maha Ela Project to divert excess water from the Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga reservoir.

Construction is estimated to cost $244 million and is financed by the Sri Lankan government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

South Asia General Manager of CSCEC Wang Zhouya told Xinhua that the tunnel would be the longest irrigation tunnel in Sri Lanka and help mitigate droughts and floods while providing water for agriculture.

Also Read-Beijing’s plans to browbeat India, US

Categories
-Top News Asia News

Israel begins easing lockdown curbs

The ban on travelling more than 1,000 metres from home was lifted on Sunday, while some businesses also started reopening…reports Asian Lite News

Israel has started lifting Covid-19-related restrictions, almost six weeks after the country entered a third nationwide lockdown to curb the pandemic.

The ban on travelling more than 1,000 metres from home was lifted on Sunday, while some businesses also started reopening, reports Xinhua news agency.

Schools and kindergartens remain closed and outgoing and incoming flights are still banned, except for exceptional cases.

Israel entered its third nationwide lockdown on December 27, 2020 as the country rolled out a large-scale Covid-19 vaccination drive.

So far, about 3.4 million have received the first shot of the vaccine.

With a population of about 9 million, Israel has reported a total of 687,492 coronavirus cases and 5,096 deaths so far.

Also read:Guterres calls for end to Israeli settlement in Palestine

Categories
-Top News Asia News

Iran vax drive to begin on Tuesday

People wearing face masks cross a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2021

Inoculation will start for the population groups most at risk: doctors and nurses working in contact with Covid-19 patients at intensive care units…reports Asian Lite News

Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki announced that the country’s vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus will begin on Tuesday.

Inoculation will start for the population groups most at risk: doctors and nurses working in contact with Covid-19 patients at intensive care units, Xinhua news agency quoted Namaki as saying on Sunday.

The official made the announcement at the launch event for the clinical trial of a vaccine developed by Iran’s Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute.

On Sunday, Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced 7,065 new Covid-19 cases, raising the country’s overall count to 1,466,435.

Of the newly infected, 544 had to be hospitalised, she said.

Over the weekend, 57 new deaths were registered, the lowest daily figure since May 2020, raising the overall fatality toll to 58,469.

Lari added that 1,253,554 infected patients have so far recovered or been released from hospitals, with 3,789 still in intensive care units.

She said 9,667,260 tests for the virus have been so far carried out in Iran.

As of Sunday, 36 Iranian counties are on orange alert for a medium risk of infection, while 412 others are on yellow or blue alert for a low risk.

Iran announced its first cases of Covid-19 on February 19, 2020.

Also read:US sanctions will not be lifted before Iran returns to nuke deal: Biden

Categories
Asia News

5.7-magnitude earthquake shakes Philippines

tricycle is seen under a collapsed building in Pampanga Province, the Philippines

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake, which struck at 8 a.m., hit at a depth of 44 km, about 211 km southeast of Governor Generoso town in the province…reports Asian Lite News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCyQpP4ghDg

An offshore earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale jolted the Davao Oriental province of the Philippines on Monday morning, authorities said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake, which struck at 8 a.m., hit at a depth of 44 km, about 211 km southeast of Governor Generoso town in the province, reports Xinhua news agency.

The tremor, which was tectonic in origin, is not expected to cause damage and aftershocks, the institute said.

Sunday’s temblor came a day after an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted the Davao del Sur province.

The institute had said the quake, which was also tectonic in origin, would trigger aftershocks and cause damage.

The Philippines has frequent seismic activity due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Also read:Japan to impose fines for breaching curbs

Categories
-Top News ASEAN News Asia News

Unrest grows in Myanmar, thousands protest against military coup

Security guards are seen at the entrance of the City Hall in Yangon, Myanmar

The protesters are demanding the release of former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other senior government leaders on February 1 shortly before the military took control…reports Asian Lite News

Thousands of people continued their protest for a third consecutive day in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw on Monday, against last week’s military coup, forcing police to use water cannons in an effort to disperse the demonstrators.

The protesters are demanding the release of former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other senior government leaders on February 1 shortly before the military took control of the South Asian nation over the disputed results of the 2020 parliamentary elections, the BBC reported.

Besides the coup, the military also declared a year-long state of emergency and handed over the state power to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

  • Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (R, front) lays a wreath during a ceremony to mark the 72nd Martyrs’ Day in Yangon, Myanmar. (Xinhua/U Aung/IANS)

According to a report by BBC Burmese, on Monday morning, a day after the country witnessed its largest protest in over a decade, thousands of people from all walks of life gathered in the the capital city for the strike.

A video has gone viral showing the police water cannon being used to disperse protesters.

Kyaw Zeyar Oo, who took the video, told the BBC that “two vehicles sprayed protesters with no prior warning while the crowd was peacefully protesting”.

Towards Monday afternoon, the situation was under control but the water cannons remained, the BBC Burmese report claimed.

Protests were also reported in other major cities, including Mandalay and Yangon.

Meanwhile, state TV has warned the protesters that action will be taken if they threaten public safety or the “rule of law”.

Suu Kyi, former President U Win Myint, and other senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party are currently under house arrest.

In November 8, 2020 parliamentary polls, the former de facto leader’s NLD party obtained more than 80 per cent of the seats and increased its parliamentary majority.

The military or the Tatmadaw had called for an investigation into voting lists, alleging fraud and discrepancies.

But the Union Election Commission rejected the allegations of election fraud on January 29.

Also read:Myanmar dismisses rumours about Demonetisation

Categories
-Top News Asia News Nepal

‘Nepal-India border fight to be resolved through talks’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli (Photo IANS/PIB)

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday said that the ongoing border disputes with India will be resolved through diplomatic talks.

Although Nepal and India held ministerial level talks in New Delhi last month, the two sides sides could not hammer out the differences after the Himalayan nation unveiled a new map in May 2020.

He made the remarks at a seminar titled, ‘Nepal’s International Border Security and Areas of Coordination among Border Management related Agencies’, organised by the Nepal Army.

Oli, who is also the Defence Minister, argued that relations with neighbouring nations could be made cordial and emboldened only on the basis of facts, equality, respect and justice and not on hegemonic measures.

“In order to consolidate the Nepal-India ties in a cordial manner, we had to print the map and talk to India. Our relations could turn cordial by only returning our territory through dialogue. Border disputes are prevailing in Susta and Kanchanpur,” he said.

Nepal and India has had boundary rows since long in the Susta and Kalapani area and during the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal in 2014, both sides had delegated to resolve the dispute at Foreign Secretaries levels but they could not meet.

In November 2019, New Delhi came up with a new political map incorporating Kalapani in its territory.

Nepal objected to the Indian move and offered talks at diplomatic level but India suggested face-to-face talks only once the Covid crisis was over.

But in May 2020 after India opened up a new 80 km link road in Uttarakhand via Lipu Lekh that Nepal claims its own, the Himalayan nation once again objected the move and offered talks.

Nepal bans two Indian mountaineers for 10 years

After New Delhi failed to respond to the repeated calls, Nepal on May 20, 2020, unveiled the
new political map of the country incorporating the disputed territory.

India immediately rejected the decision calling it as a “cartographic assertion”.

Addressing Monday’s seminar, Oli further said that open and friendly dialogue would be held with India regarding the issue of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani based on facts and evidences.

“We must retain our territory. Both the nations should consider fact and truth in maintaining
relations. Are both the countries in position to claim other’s territory?” he queried.

“There have been some historically-unsolved border problems. The issue of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani has remained unaddressed for the past 58 years. We were forced to get displaced silently when the then ruler did not dare to speak up against the intrusion.”

It is also true that our move has increased misunderstanding with India, Oli said, adding: “We need to assert claim on our territory at any cost.”

The border security agencies should be highly cautious when the border affairs become more sensitive, noted the Prime Minister.

“We have been admonished and warned while claiming our territory,” he said, adding that “there would be a dialogue in future to resolve the border disputes”.

He also directed the concerned authorities to pay special attention towards preventing the intrusion of Nepali territories and misusing the no-man’s land.

Border security is an integral part of national security, Oli said. “How can a nation remain secured when there is no border security? We have framed a working policy to implement security policy to that end.”

Also Read-Former US Secretary of State George Shultz dies

Categories
-Top News Afghanistan USA

‘US won’t withdraw troops from Afghanistan in May’

US troops in Afghanistan.

Backing decision by President Joe Biden’s administration to review the US-Taliban agreement which was signed on February 29, 2020, the South Carolina Senator said the militant group has “been cheating… They haven’t been complying”….reports Asian Lite News

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said that US troops will not leave Afghanistan by May as mentioned in the landmark peace deal inked between Washington and the Taliban, saying “we’re going to leave when the conditions are right”.

Graham made the remarks in a CBS News interview on Sunday night when he was asked about the proposed withdrawal of American troops from the war-torn country.

Backing decision by President Joe Biden’s administration to review the US-Taliban agreement which was signed on February 29, 2020, the South Carolina Senator said the militant group has “been cheating… They haven’t been complying”.

“I like what (Secretary of State Antonny) Tony Blinken and the Biden administration is doing. They’re re-evaluating our presence in Afghanistan to keep the footprint low, but not to walk away and lose all the gains we’ve achieved.

“If we leave too soon without a conditions-based withdrawal, IS (Islamic State) and Al Qaeda will come roaring back. Women will suffer greatly,” Graham told CBS News.

The Senator’s remarks come as no meeting has been held between the Afghan Republic and the Taliban negotiators in Doha over the last 19 days after the peace talks resumed between the two sides on January 5 following a break.

The peace talks had started on September 12, 2020, following the US-Taliban peace deal to end the war, paving the way for the withdrawal of thousands of US forces in Afghanistan and facilitate the intra-Afghan dialogue.

Late last month in his first media address after taking office, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby claimed that the Taliban was jeopardising the landmark agreement.

  • US troops

In response, a Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told an Afghan media outlet that the group remained committed to the agreement “and we call on the other side to stay firm on its commitments”.

The war in Afghanistan, which has caused about 2,400 US military deaths, is the longest one in American history.

Former President Donald Trump had sought a full withdrawal of forces from the country, but some of his senior aides from the military and the Pentagon suggested a more cautious approach.

Currently there are about 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan.

Also read:US sees major drop in Covid cases

Categories
-Top News Asia News USA

Biden won’t lift economic sanctions against Iran

US President Joe Biden has said he will not lift economic sanctions against Iran until it complies with the terms agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal.

Biden was speaking in a CBS News interview aired on Sunday, the BBC reported.

However, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran would only return to compliance if the US first lifted all economic sanctions.

The 2015 deal sought to limit Iran’s nuclear programme, with sanctions eased in return.

Former US President Donald Trump, however, withdrew the US from the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, leading Iran to roll back on a number of its commitments.

Iran, which says its nuclear programme is peaceful, has been increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium. Enriched uranium can be used to make reactor fuel, but also nuclear bombs.

Under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal – an agreement reached between Iran, the US, China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK – Tehran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors to access sites and facilities.

In return, sanctions imposed on Tehran were lifted.

US President Donald Trump

But Trump withdrew the US from the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in an effort to force Iran to negotiate a new accord, and reinstated economic sanctions.

Trump wanted to place indefinite curbs on Tehran’s nuclear programme and also halt its development of ballistic missiles.

Ali Khamenei said that for Iran to return to its commitments under the deal, the US must first “abolish all sanctions”, Iranian state TV reported on Sunday.

“We will assess, and if we see that they have acted faithfully in this regard, we will return to our commitment,” he said, adding: “It is the irreversible and final decision and all Iranian officials have consensus over it.”

The president also talked about the US relationship with China.

He said there was no reason for Washington to be drawn into direct conflict with Beijing, but that both sides would engage in what he called “extreme competition” on the global economic stage.

Chinese President Xi Jinping

Biden said he had not spoken to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, since becoming president last month, and that he had not changed his stance towards Beijing.

“He’s very bright, he’s very tough,” Biden said of Xi, adding: “He doesn’t have a democratic – small ‘d’ – bone in his body.”

Also Read-Adani buys 23.5% stake in Mumbai Airport