Newsletter 22 December

Sino-Indian Standoff: Fingers Crossed in Delhi

Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Japan’s Defense Minister, Kishi Nobuo on phone.

“Spoke on phone to Japan’s Defense Minister, Mr Kishi Nobuo. We expressed satisfaction at the ongoing defense cooperation between the two countries. India is committed to further elevate engagements with Japan under the Special Strategic & Global partnership framework.” Def Minister tweeted.

US President Donald Trump confers ‘Legion of Merit’ on PM Modi

The medal is rarely awarded and can only be conferred by the US President. It is usually given to heads of state or heads of government
United States’ President Donald Trump has conferred the Legion of Merit, one of the highest military honors of the US, on PM Narendra Modi for “exceptionally meritorious service” as the leader of India.
The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, was bestowed on Modi on behalf of Trump on Mon.
The medal is rarely awarded and can only be conferred by the US President.
The award was received on behalf of the Prime Minister by India’s ambassador to the US, TS Sandhu.
The ‘Legion of Merit’, Degree Chief Commander, was also awarded to Australian PM Scott Morrison and former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, the trio that helped resurrect the Quad.
The citation for the award conferred on Modi stated it was being bestowed “for exceptionally meritorious service as the Prime Minister of the Republic of India from May 2014 to August 2020”.
Modi’s “steadfast leadership and vision have accelerated India’s emergence as a global power and elevated the strategic partnership between the US and India to address global challenges,” it said.

PM Modi lauds AMU for strengthening India's relations with other countries

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tue praised the Aligarh Muslim University and said it has worked to strengthen India’s relations with many countries of the world in the last 100 years.
Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), he said that the research done at AMU on Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages, research on Islamic literature, gives new energy to India’s cultural relations with the entire Islamic world.
“The way AMU has helped society during the coronavirus crisis is unprecedented – free tests, building isolation wards, plasma banks and contributing a large amount to the PM CARES Fund shows the seriousness of fulfilling your obligations to the society,” PM Modi said via video conferencing.
PM also releases postal stamp as part of AMU’s centenary celebrations
AMU became a University in 1920, through an Act of Indian Legislative Council by elevating the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College to the status of a Central University. MAO College was set up in 1877 by Syed Ahmad Khan, PMO release stated.

Security forces recover 11 grenades dropped by Pakistan near border in Punjab

The security forces have recovered 11 hand grenades dropped by a drone launched from Pakistan in Salach village, located about 1 km from International Border, in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, police said on Mon.
5 days after they busted a drone module with international linkages in Amritsar (Rural) district, the Punjab Police on last Sun seized all the 11 Arges-84 hand grenades dropped on the night of Dec 19 by a drone launched from Pakistan, which was engaged and shot at jointly by police and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel close to the border in Gurdaspur distt.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said that Punjab Police mounted a search operation immediately after receiving input from the BSF about drone movement across the Indo-Pak border in Gurdaspur district.
“BSF personnel deployed at BOP Chakri in Gurdaspur sector had noticed a Pak drone entering Indian Territory around 11:30 pm on Sat, and BSF troops immediately fired multiple shots in an attempt to bring down the drone,” Gupta said in a statement.
On hearing the buzzing sound of the drone, the police personnel also fired multiple shots from AK47 and SLR Rifles to bring down the drone, which soon disappeared,” he added.
Austrian in nature, the Arges Type HG 84 series anti-personnel fragmentation hand grenade, is a conventional hand grenade system designed to inflict massive damage against soft targets within its blast radius, spraying shrapnel out to a distance of 30 m.
The drone was, however, not recovered and it is suspected that it managed to fly back into Pakistan territory after dropping the recovered payload.”
The seizures came even as a police team, investigating the Dec 14 drone module case of Amritsar (Rural) district, arrested 2 Delhi-based suppliers/assemblers of drones, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 8, including the 4 jailed smugglers who were found connected with the case.
Further investigations have revealed the names of 3 key Pakistan based entities, Chishti, Malik and Maqsood, who were in contact with arrested accused.
The investigations into the Dec 14 drone module case have led to the arrest of Lucky Dhawan of Delhi, from whom the prime arrested accused, Lakhbir Singh had bought the quadcopter drone along with the SkyDroid T10 2.4GHz 10CH FHSS Transmitter with mini receiver and camera support, police said. A raid was conducted on Dhawan’s TRD Enterprises in Janakpuri, New Delhi, by a police party on Dec 19.
Subsequently, the police raided the premises of Baldev Singh at Meharganj, from where he was arrested.
Search of the workshop further led to the recovery of 4 drones and drone hardware – 1 450 Quadcopter drone, 1 DJI Phantom drone, 2 DJI 249 Mavic Mini Drones, 1 video transmitter system, 1 650 Quadcopter drone repair kit and 1 mobile phone.

NIA Arrests 17 accused persons in Bengaluru Riots Case

National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths on Mon said they arrested 17 persons, including local functionaries and workers of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India, in connection with the KG Halli-DJ Halli riots on Aug 11.
The NIA in an official release said they arrested the suspects for their involvement in the attack and large-scale rioting following an alleged Fb post by Naveen, nephew of Pulakeshinagar MLA from Congress party Akhanda Srinivasamurthy.
17 people have been arrested yesterday taking total arrests to 187, in Bengaluru riots case: Karnataka Dy CM Dr CN Ashwathnarayan

63 insurgents surrender in front of Assam CM Sonowal and all the latest news

This was the third major laying down of arms ceremony by rebels in Assam this year.
Former self-styled deputy commander-in-chief of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) Drishti Rajkhowa and 62 other rebels from 4 insurgent outfits of the region surrendered with arms and ammunition in front of Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Mon.
Rajkhowa, an expert in rocket propelled grenades (RPG), was the 2^nd most important man in ULFA-I after Commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah. Rajkhowa had surrendered before security forces in Meghalaya last month.
A large number of arms and ammunition, including assault rifles, pistols, grenades, etc, were handed over by the rebels from ULFA-I, United Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (UPRF), Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) and Peoples’ Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK).
This was the 3^rd major laying down of arms ceremony by rebels in Assam this year.
In Jan, 3 days after signing of the 3^rd Bodo peace pact, 1615 cadres of 3 factions of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) had given up arms.
The same month, 644 rebels of 8 militant outfits – ULFA-I, NDFB (S), Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, National Liberation Front of Bengalis, Rabha National Liberation Front, Communist Party of India-Maoist, National Santhal Liberation Army and Adivasi Dragon Fighter had laid down arms.
With this, the total number of rebels joining the mainstream increased to 2,323 this year.

Farmer’s Protest Row….

Not received any invitation from Agri Minister, says BKU spokesperson

Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at Delhi borders for more than three weeks. Several protesting leaders have threatened to step up their agitation and have said that they are prepared to celebrate the Republic Day next year with their own tractor rally on Delhi borders.
With foot-massage machines, a dental surgery, their own newspaper and even a tattoo parlor, it’s clear that the thousands of Indian farmers blocking roads into Delhi for almost a month are going nowhere.

Rupee likely to end 2020 as the worst performing currency in Asia

The rupee closed around Rs 74 to a dollar on Friday against Rs 72.2 at the end of Dec 2019
The rupee is likely to end calendar year 2020 as the worst performing currency in Asia, even under-performing minor South Asian currencies such as the Pakistani rupee and Sri Lankan rupee.
In contrast, most Asian currencies have either appreciated against the US dollar in the last 12 months or retained their value.

Jammu and Kashmir DDC election results: Independents dominate in Srinagar, win 7 out of 14 seats

Counting of votes for the 8-phased district development council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir began at 9 am on Tue and is currently underway.
Later in the day, Srinagar district election officer Shahid Choudhary said that of the 14 DDC seats in Srinagar, 7 were won by independent candidates and 3 went to Apni Party.
1 seat each, Choudhary said, was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), National Conference (NC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and JnK People’s Movement.
Jailed PDP Leader Waheed Para Wins J&K Local Polls

NEIGHBORHOOD/ WORLD

US issued additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials over rights abuses

The United States has issued additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses, US State Secretary Michael Pompeo announced on Mon adding that China’s authoritarian rulers impose draconian restrictions on the Chinese people’s freedoms of expression.
In a statement, Pompeo said that the US has been clear that perpetrators of human rights abuses like these are not welcome in our country, Pompeo added.
The imposition of additional restrictions were u/s 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act on the issuance of visas for “Chinese officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, members of ethnic minority groups, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protestors. Family members of such persons may also be subject to these additional restrictions.
Pompeo said that the action demonstrates the US Govt’s resolve to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its increasing repression against the Chinese people.
Last week, the US Department of Commerce has added 59 Chinese entities to its export-control Entity List including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) for activities that undermine America’s national security and foreign policy interests.

US Congress stings China with new Tibet law on the next Dalai Lama

The Central Tibetan Administration welcomed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act passed by the US Congress, calling it a historic move and a clear message to China.
The US Congress has passed a bill that reaffirms the right of Tibetans to choose a successor to their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The law has been described by Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
The Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 (TPSA), which was passed by the US Senate, calls for the establishment of a US consulate in Tibet’s main city of Lhasa and underlines the absolute right of Tibetans to choose a successor to the Dalai Lama.
“Any interference by Chinese government officials will be met with serious sanctions and deemed inadmissible into the US,” the statement said.
Stung by the US move, the Chinese foreign ministry accused the US of meddling in its internal affairs and asked the Donald Trump administration against signing the legislation into law.

US destroyer USS John S. McCain on Tue trespassed into waters near China’s Nansha Islands without China’s authorization. The PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval and aerial forces, warned and expelled it, the command announced on Tue, reported Chines State media Global Times.

Prominent Baloch Activist Karima Baloch found dead in Toronto

Karima Baloch, a former chairperson of the Baloch Students Organization-Azad (BSO-Azad), is the second prominent Baloch campaigner to be found dead under mysterious circumstances in Canada after she went missing on sun.
In 2016, Karima recorded a video message on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, in which she called PM Modi a “brother” and asked him to become the voice of the Baloch movement. This was days after Modi raised the Baluchistan issue in his Independence Day speech.
Karima escaped Pakistan in 2016. She was most vocal against Pakistan deep state for their atrocities against Baloch people. Indian media said “Possibility of her assassination by Pakistan can’t be ruled out.”
As per an article published by The New Arab reported that according to various human rights watchdogs, hundreds of Baloch persons have been forcibly disappeared and killed by the Pakistani security forces as part of a state policy known as kill and dump.
The situation has only aggravated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a collection of infrastructure projects to be built in Pakistan strongly opposed by the Baloch who view it as a repressive policy by the central Govt that will deplete Balochistan’s natural resources, land, and property.

CPEC achieves major progress despite COVID-19: Pakistani official

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects have achieved major progress despite grave economic and health challenges posed by the COVID-19, Chairman of the CPEC Authority Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Mon.

Shaheen series of exercises enhances operational preparedness of PAF: Air Chief

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan says Shaheen series of exercises will go a long way in enhancing the professional skills and operational preparedness of the Air Forces of Pakistan and China, after flying an air superiority sortie in a Hi-Tech Chinese fighter aircraft during ongoing Shaheen IX exercise.
He said Chinese Military Aviation Technology is at par with contemporary requirements and has full capacity to meet the challenges of modern warfare.
It is pertinent to mention that the joint Air Exercise Shaheen IX that commenced on 9^th of this month has now entered its last phase.

Covid-19

On the “fast-spreading”, “highly infectious” SARS-CoV2 strain B117 from the UK that is creating panic in Europe. B117 has 17 mutations, critical one being the N501Y mutation in the Spike that binds to human ACE2 receptor for the virus to gain entry.
Back in Sept, Chinese scientists repeatedly passaged a clinical SARS-CoV2 isolate in mice. They obtained a mutant that was highly virulent and infectious. It had the N501Y mutation that they discovered was critical for increased virulence.
India to genome sequence all Covid-positive samples of UK passengers to check for new variant
Health ministry issued SOPs for passengers arriving from UK amid detection of new variant of Covid
2 tested positive for Covid-19 in Kolkata after arriving from London, but Ministry denied for COVID-B117