Category: Politics

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected South Africa, to the Human Rights Council for a three-year term, starting on 1 January 2023. The other countries that were elected are Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Morocco, Romania, and Vietnam. Germany and Sudan acquired second terms.

According to the UN, South Korea and Venezuela could not get re-elected to the top human rights body, which is based at the UN in Geneva.

The UN Security council’s main job is to protect and promote human rights all over the world and comprises 47 member states, elected via secret ballot by the majority of General Assembly members.

According to the UN, their selection is based on fair geographical displacement, and seats are distributed among regional groups of states from Africa (13); Asia-Pacific (13); Eastern European (6); Latin American and Caribbean (8); and Western European and others (7).

The UN Human Rights Council is faced with growing security, conflict, and climate change challenges. In 2018, the US quit the council in June, stating it made a mockery of human rights.

But the UN human rights council defended saying it does essential work to safeguard human rights globally.

Israel and Lebanon achieved a “historic breakthrough” on Tuesday after the U.S. brokered a deal that would end their maritime border dispute, allow for natural gas production, and reduce military tensions between them.

Israel and Lebanon, which have formally been at war since Israel’s creation in 1948, are expected to sign an agreement after months of U.S.-mediated negotiations. However, legal and political obstacles still remain in Israel.

Israel welcomed the deal even before Biden announced it.  In spite of not making a formal announcement, Lebanese leaders indicated that they would approve the agreement.

According to Biden, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to “formally end” their maritime dispute. According to him, both leaders were prepared to move forward after speaking with him.

Biden said, “the agreement will provide for the development of energy fields for the benefit of both countries, setting the stage for a more stable and prosperous region.” He further added that this is a crucial time that all parties uphold their commitments and work towards implementation.

Approximately 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea are claimed by both Lebanon and Israel and natural gas reserves under the sea are at stake.

Uganda will host a ministerial meeting next week on the Ebola virus flare-up, which has caused widespread fear and concern in the East Africa region, as reported by The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Acting director Ahmed Ogwell informed journalists on Thursday that the three countries that lived through the disastrous West Africa outbreak of Ebola in 2014-16, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, had also been invited to the October 12 meeting.

The current Ebola eruption in central Uganda has a 69 percent case death rate, which according to Ogwell is “very high,” and four health workers are among 10 people confirmed to have died of Ebola. There are 43 confirmed cases. However, no case of Ebola has been reported in the capital, Kampala.

The outbreak has been credited to the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus, which has no tried and tested vaccine.

Ugandan scientists and their fellow workers abroad are looking to utilize one of two possible vaccines against the Sudan strain, the WHO representative to Uganda told reporters on Thursday. But only 100 doses of the vaccine are available from the Sabin Vaccine Insitute, said Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam.

“These manufacturers are looking to produce more,” he said. “We do not have sufficient data to deploy it in a large [population] and the supply is not there. Currently, the scientists are agreeing [on] scientific protocol for the study, and as soon as the protocol is agreed upon… I think the vaccine will be imported into Uganda. Hopefully within less than a week.”

Over 2,500 U.S. and Philippine marines engaged in combat exercises on Monday to brace for any sudden crisis in a region always in a state of uneasiness and suspense over the South China Sea territorial disputes and escalating tensions over Taiwan.

The annual military drills are the first significant exercise between the long-established treaty allies under newly elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., military officials said. The preceding president, Rodrigo Duterte, was a candid critic of U.S. security policies and disapproved of military exercises with American forces as they could offend China.

Called Kamandag, the Tagalog abbreviation for “Cooperation of the Warriors of the Sea,” the drills involve 1,900 U.S. Marines and more than 600 mostly Philippine marines in dummy amphibious assaults and special operations, U.S. and Philippine military officials said. America’s HIMARS missile launchers and supersonic fighter jets will take part in live-fire operations, that will culminate on Oct. 14, they said.

The western island province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, and the northern Philippines, across the Luzon Strait from Taiwan, are the chosen venues for the operations.

Philippine Rear Admiral Caesar Bernard Valencia stated the exercises aim to boost coastal defenses and are not targeted against any country.

On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with White House National Security Advisor (NSA) Jack Sullivan to discuss issues related to U.S.-India strategic partnership, the Ukraine war, and a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

In addition to reviewing the strategic relationship, the White House said the meeting involved exchanging views on regional and global issues. According to Mr Jaishankar, “the Indo-Pacific situation, South Asia and the Gulf” were discussed. As per the White House and a tweet by Mr Jaishankar, the meeting also discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to the White House, Jaishankar and Sullivan discussed debt sustainability and promoting a “free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific” in the context of the upcoming G20 Indian presidency. During his visit, the Minister will also meet with industry bodies and advocacy groups.

A meeting between the Minister and U.S. Democratic lawmakers took place at India House, the official residence of the Indian Ambassador. Despite the fact that these meetings were not open to the press, Mr Jaishankar’s Twitter handle indicated that he had met with representatives Ami Bera, Jon Ossoff, Mark Warner, Chris Coons and Jerry McNerney.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz named his son and heir Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the country’s prime minister and his second son Prince Khalid as defense minister, a royal order showed on Tuesday.

The king’s other son, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, is the energy minister while Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, and Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih continue to be in their positions, the decree showed.

The crown prince, known as MbS, was earlier the defense minister and has been the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of oil and a major U.S. ally in the Middle East.

His new role as prime minister is in accordance with the king’s previous delegation of power and duties to him, including representing the kingdom on global visits and presiding over summits hosted by the kingdom, a Saudi official said.

“HRH the crown prince, based on the king’s orders, already supervises the main executive bodies of the state on a daily basis, and his new role as prime minister is within that context,” said the official, who refused to be named.

‏Looking back at history, such reshuffling of duties has taken place in the kingdom many times, the official said.

King Salman, 86, will still chair the Cabinet meetings he attends, the decree showed.

Calling attention to the importance of the India-US relationship, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that both countries are positioning their militaries to operate and integrate more intimately than ever.

Austin met Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar in the Pentagon on September 26. “Ties between India and the United States, the world’s two largest democracies, including military ties, are growing stronger,” he said in the statement released by the US Department of Defence.

“These conversations reinforce a growing depth, breadth, and ambition of our partnership,” Austin said. “And that partnership is moving from strength to strength.”

According to the statement, military cooperation between the two countries is higher than ever before.

Indian and US service members often exercise together, and the governments of both countries frequently share information and intelligence, especially in the aftermath of the geospatial agreement signed between the two governments in 2020. India also takes part in the American international military education and training program.

The Indian military can now exchange more information with its US partners. India has bought Apache helicopters and Seahawk helicopters and has shown an interest in other US defense capabilities.

On Tuesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and held productive talks. He paid a visit to the state funeral of late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at Nippo Budokan in Tokyo which was attended by several other top leaders of the world.

PM Modi tweeted, “Had productive talks with PM Anthony Albanese in Tokyo. We will keep working closely to boost Indian-Australian friendship in diverse sectors”.

On many fronts, Australia plays a key role in India’s development. An agreement between India and Australia for three years regarding critical minerals was announced by Australia in the first week of July. The two nations agreed to work together on critical minerals, such as batteries, electric vehicles, mobile phones, and computers, which are crucial to the development of clean energy technologies.

Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation, said that true progress can only be achieved when communities are involved, green policies are in place, and leaders are agile-all characteristics that are distinctive to Indian culture.

As part of its efforts to reduce its economic dependency on the world’s number two economy China, India signed the free trade agreement on April 2.

On Monday, Dr S Jaishankar met with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in order to discuss high technology cooperation between the two countries and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

During Jaishankar’s 10-day visit to the US, he held bilateral consultations with several US cabinet members about resilient supply chains, high technology cooperation, semiconductors, and business promotion.

A special honour cordon ceremony was held on Monday at the Pentagon for External Affairs Minister, Jaishankar to meet US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

As Jaishankar meets US counterpart Ser Anthony Blinken the day before, this meeting is a timely one.

On Saturday, the United Nations General Assembly debate at the highest level was concluded by the External Affairs Minister. From September 18 to 24, Jaishankar spent time in New York.

The US Secretary of Commerce took to Twitter and said, “Today I met with #India’s Minister of External Affairs @DrSJaishankar on how we can work more closely together on #IPEF,”. A deeper commercial relationship between India and the US was something she looked forward to.

There are 13 countries that are part of IPEF, which is a multilateral economic framework. IPEF countries have been engaged in intensive discussions since the framework’s launch in May.

Commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense Maj Gen Staff Pilot, Ibrahim Nasser Mohamed Al Alawi on Monday called on IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari and talked about ways to boost the existing bilateral ties.

Both the chiefs also discussed ways to build up cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the IAF said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) also posted a couple of pictures of the chiefs’ meeting on its Twitter handle.

Meanwhile, in another tweet, the IAF saluted the Military Engineer Services (MES) on its 100th Raising Day.

“Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and all air warriors felicitate all personnel of the Military Engineer Services on the occasion of their 100th Raising day. We acknowledge and appreciate the yeoman service rendered by MES over the years and the key role played by them in nation building,” it tweeted.

The Army and Navy were also involved in greeting the personnel on the historic MES Day.

“On the occasion of 100th Military Engineering Service Day, Engineer-In-Chief congratulates all #MES personnel and exhort them to remain prepared to meet emerging challenges & organizational needs and continue dedicating themselves towards Nation Building #IndianArm,” the Army tweeted.