As part of ‘Exercise Vajraprahar 2023’, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Individual Aunmentees (IA) conducted various joint drills on Wednesday…reports Asian Lite News
During the ongoing exercise, troops from both countries conducted exercises in a Mi-17 Heptr at Shillong’s Umiam Lake. Additionally, helocasting operations were also carried out displaying High standards of precision, synergy and professionalism.
The 14th edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise, ‘Vajra Prahar 2023’, commenced at the Joint Training Node, Umroi on November 21, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) informed through an official release earlier. The US contingent is represented by personnel from the 1st Special Forces Group (SFG) of the US Special Forces. The Indian Army contingent is led by Special Forces personnel from the Eastern Command.
The ministry added that the joint exercise, conducted between the Indian Army and US Army Special Forcest’ aims at sharing best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics. The first edition was conducted in 2010 in India and the 13th edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise was conducted at the Special Forces Training School (SFTS), Bakloh (HP). The current edition is being conducted in Umroi Cantonment, Meghalaya, from November 21 to December 11.
During the course of the exercise, both sides will jointly plan and rehearse a series of special operations, counter-terrorism operations, and airborne operations in simulated conventional and unconventional scenarios in mountainous terrain. Key highlights include ‘Combat free fall insertion of troops from stand-off distances’, ‘Waterborne insertion of troops’, ‘Precision engagement of targets at long ranges’, ‘Combat air control of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft’ besides ‘Airborne insertion and sustenance of troops’, the MoD release added.
‘Exercise Vajra Prahar’ has evolved as a mechanism to exchange ideas and share best practices between the Special Forces of both nations, the release stated, adding that it is also a platform to enhance interoperability and strengthen defence cooperation between the armies of India and the United States of America. (ANI)
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis seem reluctant to make the GOP primary about Trump, perhaps wary of alienating the legions of Republican voters who have backed him in the past, media reports said, reports T.N. Ashok
The Republican presidential race ahead of the primaries to the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire meet in another 50 days should have been a referendum on former President Donald Trump, instead, it’s turning out to be a vote on President Joe Biden’s performance, because of the vice grip on the GOP that Trump holds, media reports said.
As the four presidential hopefuls prep up their debate Wednesday in Alabama for the 4th GOP debate, challengers like number two Nikki Haley and number three Ron DeSantis seem reluctant to make the GOP primary about Trump, perhaps wary of alienating the legions of Republican voters who have backed him in the past, media reports said.
The former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, the most vocal critic of Trump, hasn’t gained much traction in his campaign, polling below 4 per cent in Iowa, while holding at third place in New Hampshire. Christie and other anti-Trump Republicans say the party has no choice but to focus on the former president, given his weakness with independent voters and the unprecedented fact that he is facing as many as four criminal trials in the coming year, USA TODAY reported.
“If Trump is our nominee, we will not only lose the presidency again, but we will lose both houses of Congress, and we will lose races up and down the ticket,” Christie told NewsNation in an interview. “He is political poison, up and down the ballot.”
Wednesday’s debate: Will Trump surface?
The non-Trump candidates will get another chance to discuss the frontrunner − or not − during Wednesday’s debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the question. Trump himself plans to host a fundraiser in Florida, skipping the Alabama debate just as he did the three previous throw-downs in Pennsylvania, San Francisco and Milwaukee.
Pollsters and political analysts don’t expect the Trump issue to surface as they don’t gain much attention or traction with the republican voters during the debate because there’s little or no gain in it for the challengers. Most of Trump’s rivals are leery of attacking the GOP’s undisputed leader, fearing a backlash from grassroots Republican voters, they said.
Attacks on Trump seem to have strengthened him politically. Many Republican voters have rallied around him, regardless of whether the attacks have come from GOP rivals, President Joe Biden and the Democrats, or prosecutors and grand juries that have charged him with felony crimes, reports said.
Trump faces trials in Washington, D.C., and Georgia on charges of trying to steal the 2020 election. He was indicted in New York over hush money payments to an adult film actress, and in Florida on allegations of mishandling classified documents. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. “Criticism of Trump from any corridor makes him stronger in the Republican primary,” said Republican political consultant Mike Madrid, who opposes the ex-president’s campaign.
Trump holds leads of more than 45 percentage points in national polls compiled by the Real Clear Politics website.
Madrid added: “If politics was normal, this would be a referendum” on Trump. “But these are not normal times.”
Republican pollster Whit Ayres said there are basically three types of Republican voters: “Always Trump”, “Maybe Trump”, and “Never Trump”.
Challengers will need those Maybe Trump voters, he said, and that means they have to be careful in how they criticize the former president, making a case against him without offending the fence-sitters. Whatever the approach, the Republican race is all about Trump, whether candidates or pundits like it or not.
“It’s defined by Trump,” Ayres said. “He has such a big personality and has taken over the party.”
‘Trump’s Second Term Threatens America’s Existence’
A possible second term for former US President Donald Trump “poses a threat to the existence of America as we know it”, the editor of a US-based magazine has said.
Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, said he refuses to go gently into that good night. “We can’t participate in the normalization of Donald Trump,” an impassioned Goldberg said. “I refuse to participate in the normalization of Donald Trump,” Goldberg was quoted by US media reports as saying.
Goldberg is one of the few major newsroom leaders who has been exceptionally clear-eyed about the perilous storm on the horizon for American democracy. Using plain language, Goldberg and his team of writers at the magazine have not shied away from portraying Trump as a vandal of civilized society and an outright menace to the US Constitution, a CNN columnist wrote on Tuesday.
On Monday, The Atlantic published a special edition of its monthly magazine focusing on what a second Trump term would look like.
The aptly-titled “If Trump Wins” issue features two dozen articles laying out how the twice-impeached, four-time indicted candidate would shred norms, weaponize government, warp the rule of law, and degrade democracy, reports said.
Trump faces 90 counts of felony, a $250 million civil and criminal tax fraud trial in Manhattan, cancellation of his business licenses, subversion of the electoral processes and conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election verdict electing Joe Biden as the President in Washington DC and Georgia.
“I want people to be able to hand this issue to people… who are still unsure about the nature of Trump’s authoritarianism,” Goldberg explained.
While most leaders of major American newspapers hold to the belief that Trump will rule as an authoritarian, it is rare to hear any of them saying so aloud — especially in such frank terms. But Goldberg is more than comfortable doing so. He points out that his position is not a partisan one.
“It’s not about Republicans and Democrats,” he stressed, but “about authoritarians versus pro-democracy Americans”. And, in his view, not being open with readers about dangerous forces on the march would amount to a dereliction of duty, the CNN analyst said.
“I would prefer journalists to speak plainly about what they’re seeing,” Goldberg said. “And I believe that a second Trump term poses a threat to the existence of America as we know it.”
“It is not that difficult for newsrooms to say they are pro-democracy. Most leaders in the Fourth Estate have no problem saying so. The conundrum they face is that in this dark time in which we find ourselves, staking out a vocal pro-democracy stance effectively means being anti-Trump. Most news organizations are not comfortable in that turf, as it could be perceived as partisan and turn away audiences. This is one of the discomforting aspects of this whole dilemma that people in the news media face,” Goldberg noted.
“Our eyes and ears tell us that Donald Trump fomented an insurrection against the Constitution. Right? We saw it. We heard it. It happened. That means that he placed himself outside the norms of American democratic behaviour. That is why I am comfortable devoting an entire issue to answering the question of what a second Trump term would look like and reaching the conclusion that it would be terrible. Absolutely terrible.”
When asked by the CNN analyst whether being outspoken about the prospect of a second Trump presidency could alienate otherwise persuadable audiences, Goldberg argued that self-censorship is not the solution. As he put it, “At a certain point, you can’t convince people of reality”.
Former US President Donald Trump.(photo:Instagram)
“All we can do is try to present fairly and completely our fact-checked views of Trump and Trumpism and hope that people read it and understand that we are trying to be truthful with our readers and truthful with ourselves and transparent,” Goldberg said.
“And if some voters in America can’t handle that, then they can’t handle that. There’s not much I can do about it.”
“And this is the dilemma facing all journalism institutions,” Goldberg continued. “We’d like to be able to speak to 100 per cent of Americans. But at a certain point you don’t want to twist or muffle or downplay certain realities simply because reporting those realities offends a segment of your audience.”
Goldberg personally knows that being candid and reporting aggressively on Trump can come with severe consequences. After Goldberg reported in September 2020 that Trump had disparaged American service members who had died in the war as “suckers” and “losers” (something former White House chief of staff John Kelly later confirmed on the record to Jake Tapper), he had to move out of his house over security concerns for a period.
But, he warned, a second Trump presidency could be even worse for the press. And, for that reason, members of the news media will need to contemplate their editorial decisions now, given Trump’s already-declared hopes to muzzle critics if he were to regain power.
“We all understand that Trump thinks of us as enemies of the state, and we understand that there are consequences for us that come with this belief,” Goldberg said. “There’s a chance that he would try to somehow criminalize reporting in a second term, and so we have to sound the alarm about that, along with the more generalized threats to American democracy. And we have to sound the alarm now.”
The US administrator’s announcement for additional aid follows President Joe Biden’s announcement of $100 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza on October 18….reports Asian Lite News
Amid the fresh hostilities between Israel and Hamas, after a brief pause for the release of hostages, the United States announced an additional 21 million USD in aid to Gaza, CNN reported quoting US Aid Administrator Samantha Power on a trip to Egypt.
It reported that the aid will include support for the provision of essential hygiene and shelter supplies, food, and market-based assistance for more than 120,000 people, as well as psychosocial care and health services for the health system in Gaza, which US Aid described as “overwhelmed”.
CNN reported that the support will bolster an NGO-operated field hospital in Gaza that provides in-patient care
The US administrator’s announcement for additional aid follows President Joe Biden’s announcement of $100 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza on October 18.
Power visited El-Arish, Egypt, to meet with local officials and Egyptian and international humanitarian organizations, according to a US Aid press release, CNN reported.
At the time of her visit, the US Department of Defense (DOD) airlifted 36,000 pounds of food assistance and medical supplies from Amman, Jordan, to El-Arish, at USAID’s request, the press release said.
The US military airlifted another 36,00 pounds of critical supplies to Gazans, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Tuesday.
“At the request of USAID (United States Agency for International Development), the Department of Defense airlifted another 16.3 metric tons, or 36,000 pounds, of vital supplies to the people of Gaza today, providing more vitally needed medical supplies, warm clothing, and food and nutrition,” Ryder said.
He said that as with previous airlifts, “the supplies were delivered via a US Air Force C-17 to Egypt to subsequently be transported via ground into Gaza and then distributed by UN agencies”, CNN reported.
Ryder added that additional flights are expected “in the coming days.” (ANI)
Wang Yi reiterated Beijing’s calls for a two-state solution to the conflict, stressing that “any arrangement involving the future of Palestine must reflect the will of the Palestinian people….reports Asian Lite News
The top diplomats from China and the US discussed the war between Israel and the Hamas group in a call, Beijing and Washington said on Wednesday, the media reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “reiterated the imperative of all parties working to prevent the conflict from spreading,” according to the US State Department.
Beijing said that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed in turn that, regarding the war, “the top priority is to ceasefire and end the war as soon as possible”.
“Major countries must adhere to fairness and justice, uphold objectivity and impartiality, demonstrate calm and rationality, and make every effort to cool down the situation and prevent larger-scale humanitarian disasters,” Wang said, according to the Foreign Ministry.
He reiterated Beijing’s calls for a two-state solution to the conflict, stressing that “any arrangement involving the future of Palestine must reflect the will of the Palestinian people,” The Times of Israel reported.
“China is willing to work with all parties to make efforts to this end,” he said.
‘Fierce battles’ continue in Gaza
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that “fierce battles” with Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip continue, as the Israeli Air Force carries out strikes against more than 250 targets, the media reported.
In a statement, it said that the 7th Armoured Brigade directed strikes on two rocket launchers used in the barrages on central Israel on Tuesday, The Times of Israel reported.
The IAF strikes also hit several Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives, alongside infrastructure belonging to the miltant groups, the military said.
The IDF added that the Kfir Brigade killed a group of Hamas operatives who were near a school in northern Gaza. Later, the soldiers found and destroyed a tunnel shaft and weapons in the area.
In another school in northern Gaza, the soldiers found weapons, according to the IDF.
‘No UN-designated safe zones’
A UN spokesman has refuted the US claim that civilians in Gaza should seek refuge in UN-designated safe places.
In response to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller’s suggestion that Gazans should seek refuge in UN-designated sites that are listed by Israel as “deconfliction zones”, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Tuesday there are no such things in Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Well, let’s be clear. There are no UN-designated safe zones in Gaza. I think all my senior colleagues have been very clear, including the secretary-general, saying there are no safe places in Gaza,” said Dujarric.
“There are shelters that fly the UN flag that are sheltering thousands and thousands and thousands of people — men, women, and children who are trying to stay alive and get some food, get some water. We have seen, since the beginning of this conflict, that those places that fly the UN flag are not safe either,” he said.
Asked where people in Gaza should go when they are ordered to evacuate, Miller said, “People should go to the UN-designated sites where — that are on Israeli lists as deconfliction zones that should not be the target of military campaigns.”
“There are already people who are sheltering in those. As the (Israeli military) campaign moves to the south (of Gaza) and Israel evacuates specific neighbourhoods or orders specific neighbourhoods to be evacuated, that is where people should go,” he said.
Netanyahu Rejects Int’l Force Post-War
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea that an international force could be responsible for security in the Gaza Strip after the war, saying that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) should retain control of the disarmament of Gaza, CNN reported on Wednesday.
According to CNN, this is not the first time Netanyahu has called for post-war Israeli military control in Gaza.
“On the day after, Gaza must be disarmed. And in order for Gaza to be disarmed, there’s only one force that can ensure that — and this force is the IDF,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday during a news conference. “No international force can be responsible for that,” he said, adding, “We saw what happened to other places where international forces were brought for disarmament purposes.”
In November, Netanyahu told CNN that Israel’s security role in a post-war Gaza would be an “over-riding, over-reaching military envelope,” but did not explain what that meant.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military encircled the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of the general staff said, CNN reported.
“Sixty days after the war began, our forces are now encircling the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip,” IDF chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday, adding, “Simultaneously, we continue to secure our accomplishments in the northern Gaza Strip.”
Funding allocations are part of the UK’s overall £127 million of humanitarian support to Ukraine and the region in 2023 to 2024, as announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in June…reports Asian Lite News
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron will travel to the US today to reaffirm both the strength of London’s relationship with Washington and its unwavering support for Ukraine fight against Russia.
He will also discuss the Middle East, getting humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict in Gaza and how the UK and US can work towards enabling a long-term two-state solution which allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace, the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.
“The UK and the US are deeply bound by a shared mission to defend the values that provide security and prosperity for us all,” Cameron said. “That is why we remain unwavering in our support of Ukraine. If we allow Putin’s aggression to succeed, it will embolden those who challenge democracy and threaten our way of life. We cannot let them prevail.”
He added: “We also stand united in the Middle East, working together to ensure long-term security and stability in the region, and in responding to the challenges posed by China.”
In his first visit to Washington as Foreign Secretary, David Cameron will discuss how the enduring partnership between the UK and US is delivering security and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic and upholding democratic values where they are threatened around the world.
“It comes as the UK will target military suppliers who are propping up Putin’s war machine through a series of sanctions. Foreign suppliers exporting equipment and parts to Russia are among dozens of individuals and groups to be sanctioned to starve Putin of the resources he needs for his illegal war in Ukraine,” a statement read.
Ahead of the visit, Cameron has announced a new winter humanitarian response package of £29 million for Ukraine and will bolster support with a further £7.75 million for humanitarian activities that will focus on the needs of the most vulnerable in Ukraine, such as women, girls, older people and people with disabilities.
Funding allocations are part of the UK’s overall £127 million of humanitarian support to Ukraine and the region in 2023 to 2024, as announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in June.
Cameron will hold an intensive round of diplomatic talks with his us counterpart Antony Blinken to reaffirm international cooperation and support for the Ukrainian people as they approach two years of battling Russian forces.
While in Washington, he will also meet key Congressional figures on both sides of the House.
There are about 25,000 Afghans, who according to Washington, are in Pakistan and waiting for their immigration to the US….reports Asian Lite News
A senior US Administration official dealing with refugees and migration, Julieta Valls Noyes, held a meeting with foreign secretary Cyrus Qazi and Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Durrani, The Express Tribune reported on Tuesday.
According to the daily, the foreign office issued no press release, but Noyes shared on X with an image of her meeting with Ambassador Durrani with a terse statement stating, “Good to visit Pakistan Foreign Ministry and see special representative for Afghanistan Asif Durrani again today (Tuesday) for discussion on Afghan refugees, protection and resettlement.”
The US official began her four-day trip to Pakistan with a series of meetings at the foreign office on Tuesday and is first of three Biden administration officials that are visiting Pakistan within the next few days.
The Express Tribune stated in its report that she will continue to meet other senior officials during her stay in Pakistan in what seems like an effort on the part of Washington to find a solution to those stranded Afghan individuals who are eligible for migration to the US.
Pakistan, earlier, launched a crackdown against Afghans living in the country illegally following the expiration of the deadline on October 31.
The Express Tribune reported that since the decision, the US has been in touch with Pakistan to ensure that Afghans who are eligible for immigration to the US are spared.
There are about 25,000 Afghans, who according to Washington, are in Pakistan and waiting for their immigration to the US.
Those Afghans worked for the US during its military campaign in Afghanistan. But after the US withdrawal, they have been stuck in Pakistan, waiting for the process of immigration to complete.
The US has been working with Pakistan to find a workable solution to prevent Afghan immigrants from being deported to their homeland, The Express Tribune reported.
There are also concerns that other than such Afghans, there are individuals such as musicians, artists, journalists and others who may be evicted. The US is keen that such vulnerable Afghans are not touched either.
Pakistani officials said their cases would be scrutinised accordingly, making it clear that in the first phase, those who don’t have any legal status are being sent back.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West is due in Islamabad later this week to discuss the overall Afghan situation particularly the current state of the relationship between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban, the daily reported. (ANI)
The popular mantra of Russian politicians, experts and media loyal to the Kremlin, denounced in the West as “Kremlin propaganda,” is unexpectedly echoed by Russian irreconcilable critics of the Putin establishment, writes Sergei Strokan
The sanctions imposed by the US and its European allies on Russia after the start of the military operation in Ukraine last February did not lead to the collapse of the Russian economy and domestic political turmoil, but on the contrary opened new markets and business opportunities and consolidated President Putin’s personal power.
The Russian leader, hated and written off by the West, with US President Joe Biden and European leaders desperately trying to prevent his victory seen as a major challenge to liberal democracies is de facto already winning. Putin is winning not only inside Russia where he is expected to confidently extend his term at presidential election next March, but also in Ukraine, which is facing the threat of military defeat.
The popular mantra of Russian politicians, experts and media loyal to the Kremlin, denounced in the West as “Kremlin propaganda,” is unexpectedly echoed by Russian irreconcilable critics of the Putin establishment. Former officials, politicians, and businessmen living in exile in the West, each of them having his own personal conflict with the Russian government, voice growing disappointment that the war of sanctions against Russia has not justified their hopes.
The new striking tendency is illustrated by the recent interview of disgraced Russian businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin granted to the YouTube channel “Living Nail”. Yevgeny Chichvarkin, who currently lives in London, was the owner of the Euroset Russian company — a one-time leader at Russia’s cellular services market which was shut down after a fraud case initiated against its founder.
Chichvarkin himself, who managed to escape prosecution and settled in London, was officially proclaimed a foreign agent in Russia. Long before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, in his interviews from the British capital, he repeatedly spoke out against Vladimir Putin and Russia’s political system of power and economic model.
However, Chichvarkin’s latest statement, in which he openly called for recognizing the West’s loss in the confrontation with President Putin and accused Western leaders of doing everything to make the Russian leader win, strikes with shocking frankness and radically differs from all his previous statements.
“Look at present-day Russia. The West has built a “fence” for half of the country, with neither people nor money being able to get out of it, but money for oil, gas and other minerals is thrown behind this “fence” all the time. Therefore, there is a lot of money and people behind the “fence”,” Chichvarkin says. According to him, the departure of Western companies did not negatively affect the Russian industry, moreover, it created a new incentive for its development.
“Everything has recovered phenomenally. IKEA is gone — the local companies that produce furniture are on top. Western car manufacturers are gone — Chinese “microwaves” on wheels are selling great. It’s all good. Russians say now “we will open our furniture production, and our national fast-food network “Delicious — and full stop” instead of “McDonald’s”, and our -Starbucks – we will do everything ourselves. We can do it without you, guy at the West, but you can’t do without us,” Chichvarkin argued.
According to him, the West has shot its own leg “by imposing its moronic sanctions which only make Russia to adopt the notorious North Korea ideas of Chuche or self-reliance. Adding to that, “everyone who wanted and did not want to returned are returning to Putin.”
“While punishing ordinary citizens, Western countries really did nothing against Putin, says Chichvarkin.
“Western leaders have done a lot to confirm what Putin has always said: “We are in a ring of enemies. Europe went into hysterics, raising gas prices on the stock exchange five times, stuffing Gazprom pockets with money” Yevgeny Chichvarkin notes.
The disgraced businessman also referred to analytical articles claiming that “without Russian fertilizers, there will be galloping food inflation in the world and therefore you need to close your eyes and continue to buy Russian fertilizers.” “And they continue to buy fertilizers, while rejoicing that they had the courage to confiscate a beautiful yacht from the owner of a fertilizer company,” Evgeny Chichvarkin laments, calling for understanding that the West, with its sanctions and restrictions, has done “everything to enable Putin to win, and he wins.”
“We lost, let’s just admit it,” London-based Kremlin critic says.
Another example of the amazing metamorphosis that is happening to critics of the Kremlin living in the West was the change in the tone of the statements by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov. In an interview with the famous Ukrainian TV journalist Dmitry Gordon, which he gave this July, Garry Kasparov said: “Ukraine’s war with Russia will end next summer with a complete victory for Kiev. This is the only way for Joe Biden to be re-elected in the presidential election. It is necessary to win the war in June next year, so that everyone says that Joe Biden led Ukraine to victory over the evil empire.” According to Garry Kasparov, the entire military industry of the USA and Europe is working for the victory of Ukraine.
However, just six months later, Kasparov’s statements are full of disappointment and frustration that the Ukraine project of President Biden didn’t work the way he wanted. According to exiled Russian opposition leader, President Biden turned out to be weak and lost precious time not providing Ukraine with all the weapons and ammunition it needed, thereby creating a threat of its defeat.
“The USA is the slowest member of the Western alliance. The once timid Europeans are now more determined than the Biden administration, which still disputes every supply of weapons. Making things even worse, reports of behind-the-scenes contacts between current and former American officials and the Russian authorities undermine the concept of NATO unity and deterrence of Vladimir Putin’s terrorist regime,” laments Garry Kasparov.
All in all, Garry Kasparov who wished the defeat to his own country and is seen in Russia as a traitor may one day wake up to new frightening reality — the defeat of Ukraine.
(Sergei Strokan is a veteran journalist, writer and columnist of the Kommersant publishing house based in Moscow. The views expressed are personal and exclusive to India Narrative)
Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has threatened the shutdown of Delhi's IGI Airport on November 19, the day on which the final of the ongoing cricket World Cup will be played in Ahmedabad.(IANS/Video Grab)
US federal prosecutors last month accused Indian intelligence official Nikhil Gupta of “planning and directing” a plot from India to allegedly kill Pannun in New York….reports Asian Lite News
The US has said that it is looking forward to seeing the results of India’s investigation into the plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader, and will not make any assessments before the probe is finished.
“We have noted at the most senior levels of this government — the Secretary of State has raised this directly with his foreign counterpart that we take this issue very seriously. They told us they would conduct an investigation,” US State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said in his news briefing on Tuesday.
“They have publicly announced an investigation. And now we’ll wait to see the results of the investigation, but it’s something we take very seriously,” Miller said in response to a question on developments in the case at the diplomatic level.
He further said that it would be “inappropriate” for him to comment on a “law enforcement matter” as the Department of Justice is presenting the case in court.
“We are looking forward to seeing the results of that (India’s) investigation, and I’m not going to make any assessments, obviously, before the investigation itself is completed,” Miller told reporters.
The comments come a week after the White House said that it takes the allegations that an Indian was involved in a foiled bid to kill Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on its soil “very seriously”.
When asked by a reporter whether the plot to kill Pannun is an attack on the US sovereignty, Miller said: “I’m not going to speak beyond what — the information that’s contained in an indictment for I think what are — for what I think are fairly obvious reasons”.
US federal prosecutors last month accused Indian intelligence official Nikhil Gupta of “planning and directing” a plot from India to allegedly kill Pannun in New York.
Reacting to the charges, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was a “matter of concern” and “contrary to Indian government’s policy”.
India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter, and said it will take necessary follow-up action based on the findings of the Committee.
On being asked about India’s ‘non-cooperation’ with the Canadian government on Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s case, Miller said in his Tuesday’s briefing they have urged New Delhi to cooperate with Ottawa.
Canada claimed in September that Nijjar was shot dead by Indian agents in British Columbia province in June this year.
While responding to Canada’s allegations, India said recently: “As far as Canada is concerned, they have consistently given space to anti-India extremists and violence. That is at the heart of the issue”.
Washington Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Combo photo shows U.S. Democrat Joe Biden (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump attending their respective events on different occasions. (Xinhua/IANS)
Trump faces trials in Washington, D.C., and Georgia on charges of trying to steal the 2020 election…reports Asian Lite News
The Republican presidential race ahead of the primaries to the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire meet in another 50 days should have been a referendum on former President Donald Trump, instead, it’s turning out to be a vote on President Joe Biden’s performance, because of the vice grip on the GOP that Trump holds, media reports said.
As the four presidential hopefuls prep up their debate Wednesday in Alabama for the 4th GOP debate, challengers like number two Nikki Haley and number three Ron DeSantis seem reluctant to make the GOP primary about Trump, perhaps wary of alienating the legions of Republican voters who have backed him in the past, media reports said.
The former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, the most vocal critic of Trump, hasn’t gained much traction in his campaign, polling below 4 per cent in Iowa, while holding at third place in New Hampshire. Christie and other anti-Trump Republicans say the party has no choice but to focus on the former president, given his weakness with independent voters and the unprecedented fact that he is facing as many as four criminal trials in the coming year, USA TODAY reported.
“If Trump is our nominee, we will not only lose the presidency again, but we will lose both houses of Congress, and we will lose races up and down the ticket,” Christie told NewsNation in an interview. “He is political poison, up and down the ballot.”
Wednesday’s debate: Will Trump surface?
The non-Trump candidates will get another chance to discuss the frontrunner − or not − during Wednesday’s debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the question. Trump himself plans to host a fundraiser in Florida, skipping the Alabama debate just as he did the three previous throw-downs in Pennsylvania, San Francisco and Milwaukee.
Pollsters and political analysts don’t expect the Trump issue to surface as they don’t gain much attention or traction with the republican voters during the debate because there’s little or no gain in it for the challengers. Most of Trump’s rivals are leery of attacking the GOP’s undisputed leader, fearing a backlash from grassroots Republican voters, they said.
Attacks on Trump seem to have strengthened him politically. Many Republican voters have rallied around him, regardless of whether the attacks have come from GOP rivals, President Joe Biden and the Democrats, or prosecutors and grand juries that have charged him with felony crimes, reports said.
Trump faces trials in Washington, D.C., and Georgia on charges of trying to steal the 2020 election. He was indicted in New York over hush money payments to an adult film actress, and in Florida on allegations of mishandling classified documents. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. “Criticism of Trump from any corridor makes him stronger in the Republican primary,” said Republican political consultant Mike Madrid, who opposes the ex-president’s campaign.
Trump holds leads of more than 45 percentage points in national polls compiled by the Real Clear Politics website.
Madrid added: “If politics was normal, this would be a referendum” on Trump. “But these are not normal times.”
Republican pollster Whit Ayres said there are basically three types of Republican voters: “Always Trump”, “Maybe Trump”, and “Never Trump”.
Challengers will need those Maybe Trump voters, he said, and that means they have to be careful in how they criticize the former president, making a case against him without offending the fence-sitters. Whatever the approach, the Republican race is all about Trump, whether candidates or pundits like it or not.
“It’s defined by Trump,” Ayres said. “He has such a big personality and has taken over the party.”
File photo shows Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking during a daily news briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, Aug. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie E/IANS)
There are no UN-designated safe zones in Gaza. I think all my senior colleagues have been very clear, including the secretary-general, saying there are no safe places in Gaza,” said Dujarric…reports Asian Lite News
UN spokesman has refuted the US claim that civilians in Gaza should seek refuge in UN-designated safe places.
In response to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller’s suggestion that Gazans should seek refuge in UN-designated sites that are listed by Israel as “deconfliction zones”, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Tuesday there are no such things in Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Well, let’s be clear. There are no UN-designated safe zones in Gaza. I think all my senior colleagues have been very clear, including the secretary-general, saying there are no safe places in Gaza,” said Dujarric.
“There are shelters that fly the UN flag that are sheltering thousands and thousands and thousands of people — men, women, and children who are trying to stay alive and get some food, get some water. We have seen, since the beginning of this conflict, that those places that fly the UN flag are not safe either,” he said.
Asked where people in Gaza should go when they are ordered to evacuate, Miller said, “People should go to the UN-designated sites where — that are on Israeli lists as deconfliction zones that should not be the target of military campaigns.”
“There are already people who are sheltering in those. As the (Israeli military) campaign moves to the south (of Gaza) and Israel evacuates specific neighbourhoods or orders specific neighbourhoods to be evacuated, that is where people should go,” he said.
