politicodiary

During the turmoil in Afghanistan, China was one of the few countries to support Taliban rule. Now, even China is getting doubtful about the support offered. Finally, China has realised their mistake of supporting Afghanistan and now they are losing their confidence on their decision. Taliban is known for their support of terrorism and laws to suppress women in the country. Just four months ago, in August 2021, China has supported the Afghanistan and now they seem to lose confidence in the Taliban due to rampant terrorist activities and ill treatment to women. As per a report, they have made clear about their views on the current condition in Afghanistan. The prevalent terrorist condition in Afghanistan and wide presence of terrorist groups ISIS and Al-Qaeda, makes China aware of their mistake on the decision to support Taliban in Afghanistan. Now, China is asking for a collaborative approach to fight terrorism. As per a comment by Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao, th

Policeman in Italy are checking regularly the green health pass of passengers of public transport. They have suspended profile of 17 online sellers, offering fake COVID certificates. As per a statement from the Italy’s finance Police, the action for suspension of 17 public and private messaging channels has happened due to sale of illegal Covid-19 vaccine certificates. Fake Covid Pass is offered in paper format or digital medium to the customers. As of now, nine private profiles and eight public have been caught by Police. These certificates are sold ranging from €100 to €500. Discount is also available for purchases made in bulk or ‘family package’ deal. As per the investigating agencies, payments were also done by cryptocurrencies, in few cases. The online sellers make an assurance of the pass being “fully reliable” with a confirmation of “QR” code to pass the checks by competent authorities, also post sales service, in case of any problems later. While, at one end there has be

Andrzej Duda, the President of Poland has vetoed the bill regarding the  US company Discovery to give up its controlling share in Polish TV network TVN.  The bill passed in parliament has invited a lot of controversy due to the pressure  from the US. Andrzej Duda shared that he decided to veto against the bill as this will  spoil the reputation of Poland as a place to do business and also it is unpopular  amongst the local people. Also, he said that it is important for Poland to be seen as  an honourable partner with its allies. The US government has raised pressure on  Andrzej Duda over this bill. This bill which was passed by the lower house of parliament, restricts non-European  companies from owning more than a 49 percent stake in television or radio  broadcasters in Poland. The immediate and direct impact of this bill would be on  Discovery Inc., as this would force the US owner of Poland’s largest private  television network, TVN, to sell the majority or even all of its holdings

The US government has terminated the continuity for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The government of Ethiopia has shown deep regret on this decision of the US government. In a statement by the ministry, they shared "We strongly encourage the U.S government to reconsider its decision." The statement from Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, also says that “the Ethiopian Government has continued to take measures aimed at restoring peace and stability and consolidating the political and economic reforms over the past three years. They also mentioned about the respect of having a long-standing cordial relationship that has existed between our two countries and good faith maintained with the involved agencies within the US administration to restore our mutually beneficial partnership. The decision to remove Ethiopia from AGAO is expected to further slowdown the cause of human rights in Ethiopia. The export business opportunities created

The comments made by Pakistan Prime Minister on defending the Taliban’s treatment of women in Afghanistan has invited a wave of criticism from across the world. He commented that world cannot force the Taliban to take steps on women’s rights that are against the Pashtun culture. These comments came at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Islamabad. His comment has brought in angry comments from many Afghan women activists in particular who panned Khan for his “immaturity” and “boorish attempt to defend the Taliban”. In a letter on behalf of the Afghan women’s to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation says that the Pakistan Prime Ministers’ comments has reconfirmed the Taliban mindset and justify the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s education and employment. The letter to OIC reads “We specifically would like to draw your attention to the call of the Afghan women coalition that the statement made by Prime Minister Imran Khan on the Afghan traditions regarding

A penalty of one million euros has been imposed on European Missile Maker MBDA for offset delays in the Rafale aircraft deal. The penalty has been imposed on European missile maker for delays in fulfilling its commitments in the deal signed between India and France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. As per the sources, the main cause for imposing and collection of the penalty has been initiated to tighten screws on defaulting armament majors. MBDA is a weapon’s package supplier for the Rafale jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation in the inter-governmental agreement inked by India in September 2016. On one hand, India has signed the inter-governmental agreement with France and supply protocols for the fighters and weapons; and on the other, a major offsets contract with Dassault and a smaller one with MBDA. As agreed, half of the contract value (around Rs 30,000 crore) has to be ploughed back to India as offsets or re-investments, spread over seven years from the date

A huge crack had got developed in Kenya’s rift valley, which could split Africa in two parts. The suddenly developed natural phenomena has been intriguing scientists and the population of Kenya. A 65-meter-wide and 50 feet deep opening has developed in earth spanning several kilometres long. This terrifying natural phenomenon happened after torrential rainfall and earth tremors. The giant crack has separated the highway in two parts creating fear amongst the locals in west of Nairobi, Kenya. Scholars claim that this incident is the beginning of the division of Africa into two separate continents. Ben Andrews, a geologist with the Smithsonian said “We are seeing a crack that in all likelihood formed over many thousands of years or hundreds of thousands of years." He further added that though the giant crack is exposed by a rainstorm, whereas the true cause goes deeper and the gap was created by the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates, sections of the Earth's crust that

Friendships are becoming thick on the wrong sides- Russia and China, who are now calling each other strong friends in arms. This becomes more apparent as both leaders of the powerful nations engaged in a long video call that lasted 1hour and 30 minutes, local media has reported. Russia is looking for security guarantees from the West and China is backing it in its attempts to do so. In their virtual summit, they have vowed to stand up against the West. So, the two very powerful nations of the world are ganging up against the rest of the world. One of their key points of discussion was the escalating war like situation between Russia and Ukraine and the former’s desire to claim ownership of the latter. Russia wants the United States and NATO to guarantee the military alliance will not expand further eastward or deploy weapons systems in Ukraine and other countries on Russia's border. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have interacted on many occasions in the last two years discussing key

The story doesn’t get any easy for the Palestinians living in and around Israel or in Lebanon. Their access to jobs remains limited. It seems syndicated individuals can restrict their right to work. Last week, the Lebanese government granted limited access to Palestinians to seek jobs in their economy. But sadly, but most white-collar jobs remain barred without a Parliament vote. The decree, published on the Labour Ministry’s website, says Palestinians born in Lebanon, as well as non-Lebanese with a Lebanese mother or married to a Lebanese citizen, are now allowed to work in professions managed by Lebanese orders and syndicates. According to Abdelnasser El Ayi, project manager at the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, an inter-ministerial body headed by the prime minister's office, “Laws governing jobs organised by the order, can only be changed by lawmakers in Parliament.” These include professions like, engineering, medicine, pharmacy and law. Post the Arab-Israeli war in

Foreign leaders from G7 nations have met today to defuse the tension with Russia. With Russia building its troops on the Ukrainian border, it is creating fear and tension for the neighbouring nations.  Attempts have been made from Britain and US to seek a unified approach to convince Iran  on the acceptance of revival of 2015 nuclear agreement. The Foreign Secretary of  Britain Liz Truss had a meeting with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and  other G7 counterparts on Friday evening before the two days of talks. The meeting as expected had in attendance  remotely connected  ministers and in person attendance by ASEAN countries. The leading democratic powers seek to boost their influence in the Indo-Pacific. Historic location of “The Museum of LiverPool” in the City’s docklands was selected for  the event, a location rich in history and culture, which has been a symbol of British global  reach and economic might.   In an attempt to revive the nuclear deal with Iran Ministers and

Taiwan is taking on things head on, despite its growing tension with China. With the chip market compromised over pandemic and closures of the production facilities, the US and Taiwan have decided to support each other in semiconductor space. It is worth noting that this partnership comes amid escalating tensions between China and independently governed Taiwan. China has been forcing itself on Taiwanese government and wishes to make it a part of its sovereignty. Currently, Beijing continues to view Taiwan as a breakaway province. China's air force has been  entering  Taiwanese airspace frequently in recent months and staging military exercises near the island, prompting fears of a military conflict. The United States on the other hand has been trying to support Taiwan, a country which has had to fight a lot harder for its trade relations to be taken seriously worldwide, under constant pressure from China. The Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC) framework wa

In a final movement, US combat troops will no longer play truce role in Iraq anymore, news reports have confirmed. But even now, there are 2500 troops stationed in Iraq, even after the decision from Washington. According to Iraq’s national security adviser, the US led coalition against ISIS will not shift itself to a training and advisory role. Officially, the troops have finished their combat mission.  Keeping in lines with the Biden administration to reduce military presence and combative support and bring back their own, the decision to terminate the mission was first announced by the President in July of this year, when he hosted the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi. The decision while works in favour of American troops who have been stationed into such war battered regions for months together, it might not be good news for the Iraqi government after all. The latter has been under pressure from powerful pro-Iranian political groups with armed wings that have demanded all

Uzbekistan is in human rights violation and the American senate is putting pressure on the administration for the country to take onus for it. In a letter, this has been stated clearly and the letter has now been made public. Those who have raised their voices include Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey), the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, and five other Senate Democrats called on the U.S. administration. All are asking that Uzbekistan's leaders should be pressed on human rights issues during an upcoming dialogue session. The senators are now insisting that the Central Asian nation should conduct sweeping reforms ‘as promised by President Shavkat Mirziyoev’ earlier. This conversation is starting as both nations are slated to meet soon in the year over the first Strategic Partnership Dialogue. Uzbekistan is responsible for curtailing freedom of speech of people and media and lack of progress towards political liberalization. The letter states that 'Despite much-

After a huge gap, Kremlin has decided to make a visit to India. Indeed, everyone is seeing how the New Delhi-Kremlin bond is becoming stronger. Indian PM Narendra Modi has played his cards well, to keep the powerful on his side. Vladimir Putin is definitely one of those choices. Putin’s visit comes at the strategic time of Russia’s delivery of the S-400 air defense systems, a technology that was to attract secondary sanctions from America. But India knows where to butter its bread and has decided to shake hands with Russia over military partnership for the next decade as well. Let us not forget that Russia is dominated the supply of natural gas to many in the Western world. With India having made a bigul call of going completely green on its fuel consumptions through investments elsewhere, partnership with Russia could make sense in a later stage. Despite India’s increasing closeness to the West, a strong Russia and stronger India-Russia ties are important for India’s vision of a mult

The Education minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Berhanu Nega has asked to close all the secondary schools for a week. This announcement was made to allow students help in harvesting crop fields left behind by civilians who enlisted in the military. Government officials shared that the fighting has destroyed hundreds of schools and more  than 1.2 million students were out of school due to the ongoing conflict in the north. A six-month state of emergency was announced in November to contain a Tigrayan rebel advancement towards the capital, Addis Ababa. Due to the current situation arising in the north and centre of the country caused by rebel  forces, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has made a call to join the armed forces to defeat the  uprising rebel. Thousands of people have answered his call to join the army. He called on “all patriotic Ethiopians” to join him in frontline combat against forces loyal to  the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Recently PM Abiy Ahmed has himself joined the fro

  As African countries have repeatedly encountered their economic crises, they have turned to rich nations for help. The only one that has come to their rescue and then played their cards well is China. This is also because China made it easy for the African countries. Nigeria was no exception. The need for help came from IMF and the World Bank but with a lot of conditions like Structural Adjustment Programs , spurred endless controversies and gained eternal infamy. Nigeria also grew dependent on the Western world support as well as lending institutions like these. In 1956, when it discovered oil, its dependency on oil exports also grew. But with that came price fluctuations and then other kinds of dependencies as well. This dangerous dependence on a single commodity for fiscal and monetary stability meant sudden or prolonged drop in oil prices automatically triggered an economic crisis in the country. This made Nigeria a regular client of the IMF and World Bank. And with the ins