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Saudi Crown Prince Receives CIA Honor For Anti-Terror Efforts

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, has been awarded a CIA honor in recognition of his efforts to fight terrorism.

The crown prince was awarded the “George Tenet” medal by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who arrived to Riyadh late Friday.

It was granted in recognition of distinguished intelligence work in the fight against terrorism and the crown prince’s contributions toward security and peace.

In a statement issued on the occasion, the crown prince said the award represents international recognition of the Kingdom’s anti terrorism efforts under the directives of King Salman.

He also recognized the efforts of the brave Saudi men and women of the different security agencies and the cooperation of the Saudi public in addressing the terror epidemic.

“The Kingdom has been keen to combat terrorism based on its conviction that terrorism has no identity and no religion, and from its belief that the terrorists are committing these acts stemming from their deviant ideologies and evil thought. All negative religious, political and social ideologies that use religion as a tool throughout human history, do not reflect the absolute truth about religion,” the crown prince said.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia will spare no efforts in fighting terrorism, adding that the Kingdom has succeeded in thwarting several terror plots including some targeting other friendly countries.

“Combating terrorism requires a joint international effort at all levels; financially, intellectually, militarily and through the media. This should be coordinated and conducted in accordance with the UN’s covenants and laws including particularly the principle of sovereign equality,” he said.

Commenting on Saudi-US ties, the crown prince described them as “strong and historic,” adding that the two sides will not allow anything or anyone to come between them or cause damage to those ties.


Chinese Air Pollution Linked To Respiratory And Cardiovascular Deaths

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In the largest epidemiological study conducted in the developing world, researchers found that as exposures to fine particulate air pollution in 272 Chinese cities increase, so do deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

The researchers reported their results in “Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Daily Mortality: A Nationwide Analysis in 272 Chinese Cities,” published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“Fine particulate [PM2.5] air pollution is one of the key public health concerns in developing countries including China, but the epidemiological evidence about its health effects is scarce,” said senior study author Maigeng Zhou, PhD, deputy director of the National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “A new monitoring network allowed us to conduct a nationwide study to evaluate short-term associations between PM2.5 and daily cause-specific mortality in China.”

The researchers found: * The average annual exposure to PM2.5 in the Chinese cities was 56 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3)–well above the World Health Organization air quality guidelines of 10 μg/m3. * Each 10 μg/m3 increase in air pollution was associated with a 0.22 percent increase in mortality from all non-accident related causes. * Each 10 μg/m3 increase in air pollution was associated with a 0.29 percent increase in all respiratory mortality and a 0.38 percent increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality. * Mortality was significantly higher among people age 75 and older and among people with lower levels of education. * The association between PM2.5 levels and mortality was stronger in cities with higher average annual temperatures.

The researchers speculate that differences in educational attainment may result in environmental health inequalities and access to health care that affect mortality. In warmer cities, the authors hypothesize residents may spend more time outdoors and open windows, increasing their exposure to PM2.5.

The researchers said their study suggests a weaker association between increases in PM2.5 and mortality than studies conducted in Europe and North America. They suggest a number of possible explanations for this difference, including that in most Chinese cities there was a plateauing of mortality at the highest levels of pollution and the components of PM2.5 pollution in China may be less toxic than the components in Europe and North America. Crustal dust from arid lands and construction make up more PM2.5 pollution in China than it does in Europe and North America.

In 2013 China began introducing PM2.5 monitoring in urban areas. The current study analyzed available data between 2013-15. For nearly half the cities in the study, there was only one year of PM2.5 data available, and the authors note that a limitation of their study is that it does not look at the cumulative effect of PM2.5 over many years.

“Our findings may be helpful to formulate public health policies and ambient air quality standards in developing countries to reduce the disease burden associated with PM2.5 air pollution,” said study co-author Haidong Kan, MD, professor of public health at Fudan University in China. “Further massive investigations, especially looking at the long-term effect studies, are needed to confirm our results and to identify the most toxic components of PM2.5 in China.”

Assad Says Extremists Hiding Among Syrian Refugees In Europe

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said some of the millions of refugees who have fled his country’s conflict are “terrorists,” in an interview published Friday.

Asked by Yahoo News about US President Donald Trump’s claim that extremists are hiding among refugees, Assad agreed, saying “you can find it on the net.”

“Those terrorists in Syria holding machine guns or killing people, they are peaceful refugees in Europe or in the West,” the Syrian leader said.

He did not specify how many of the 4.8 million Syrian refugees he meant, saying “you don’t need a significant number to commit atrocities.”

Assad’s words are likely to be used by anti-refugee groups in Europe and the United States to further vilify those escaping war-torn Syria for the lives.

Assad also rejected Trump’s plan to carve out safe zones for civilians in Syria.

The US president said last month that he “will absolutely do safe zones in Syria” for people displaced by the violence in a bid to reverse their migration to Europe and elsewhere. He did not provide details.

“Safe zones for the Syrians could only happen when you have stability and security. Where you don’t have terrorists. Where you don’t have flow and support of those terrorists by the neighboring countries or by Western countries,” Assad said.

“It’s not a realistic idea at all.”

The White House last month ordered the Pentagon and State Department to draw up a plan to “provide safe areas in Syria and in the surrounding region.”

The announcement came ahead of a surprise ban on refugees from Syria traveling to the United States, which a court has since suspended.

Other US politicians and officials have long supported the idea of safe zones in Syria, including Democrats such as Trump’s presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

Critics say it would risk the US military becoming bogged down in Syria’s civil war.

The Syrian conflict began when the Baath regime, in power since 1963 and led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded with military force to peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms during the Arab Spring wave of uprisings, triggering an armed rebellion fueled by mass defections from the Syrian army.

According to independent monitors, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, mostly by the regime and its powerful allies, and millions have been displaced both inside and outside of Syria.

The brutal tactics pursued mainly by the regime, which have included the use of chemical weapons, sieges, mass executions and torture against civilians have led to war crimes investigations.

Original article

Vietnam: Priests Claim Police Harassment

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Plainclothes police in the central Vietnamese city of Hue blocked a group of Catholic priests from attending a church service on Feb. 2, one of the priests said.

Father Phan Van Loi told Radio Free Asia that officers resumed monitoring his activities after the five-day Tet holiday, Vietnam’s New Year celebration which fell on Jan. 28-Feb. 1 this year.

“I asked them why they were blocking me from attending church services,” the priest said. “I asked if they were police. Of course, I knew they were police because I had previously seen them around my house.”

Father Loi said the police have tightened their watch over his house and monitored him closely for the last two months because he had spoken with people at the Thien An monastery in Hue, whose property has been subject to land grabs during the past few years.

Another reason was that he belongs to a group of three Catholic priests in Hue that the government deems to be dissidents, he said. The other two are Nguyen Van Ly and Nguyen Huu Giai.

Father Loi is an outspoken critic of Vietnam’s communist government and its repression of civil society groups.

Ly, a prisoner of conscience who was arrested in 1977, 2001, and 2007 for various crimes against the state, served nearly two decades in prison. Authorities released him from jail last May ahead of a visit to the country by then U.S. President Barack Obama.

Giai has been a critic of the government’s harassment of certain religious groups.

Hindu Temple Opens In California’s Santa Clarita

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Sri Siddhi Vinayaka Temple Santa Clarita (SSVTSC), where the main deity is Lord Ganesh, had its grand-opening on February 9, in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita (California).

Mission of Sri Siddhi Vinayaka Temple of SSVTSC, a non-profit organization, is “to serve Santa Clarita community by offering a place to worship, practice spirituality, celebrate festivals and cultural activities”. It plans to have Ganesh Puja (worship) and other services every Saturday, besides various activities/programs for everyone round the year, including programs for children and charity food donations.

Temple opening puja was performed by priest Cherukupalli Narasimhacharya and Tyger White of Santa Clarita Valley Interfaith Council also participated in the celebrations. Temple leaders/volunteers reportedly include Mano Dhana, Suman Dutta, Prakash, Deepthi Rajaraaman, Gautam Deepthi, Kavitha Muru, Aparna Kiran, Vijay Sharma and Ritu Khadiya.

Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, commended efforts of temple leaders and area community towards realizing this Hindu temple.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this temple would help in this direction. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.

In Hinduism, Lord Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world has about one billion adherents. There are about three million Hindus in USA.

Towards A New World Order – OpEd

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The world’s traditional order is breaking down. Indeed, recent elements show a major geopolitical change, such as the unexpected election of Donald Trump, the general crisis of the European Union due to Brexit, the massive immigration crisis, and the economic crisis in nations in the Southern hemisphere.

In Syria, the poorly understood strong Russian influence also incarnates the sharp movements in the Near-East.  How can we explain this coming, unpredictable geopolitical situation?

The Conservative & Nationalist Takeover 

Recent events prove that the population and political stakeholders in Europe are no longer split between a traditional left and a right opposition (or, in the U.S., Democrats vs. Republicans). The divide is now between Internationalists vs. Nationalists, which are coming to power on both sides of the Atlantic.

Indeed, Brexit embodies the EU’s shift on the political spectrum from a strong European partnership to Conservatism and Nationalism. The referendum cut the country almost perfectly in half. Voters in Scotland and thriving metropolitan areas in the south of England (including London) opted to stay in the EU (48%). Small towns and post-industrial regions across Northern England and Wales voted to leave (52%).  This observation is comparable to the election of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Rural and post-industrial areas that were feeling left behind in a fast-changing world are now taking their revenge by finding new leaders, like Donald J. Trump or Theresa May to represent their plight.

Nationalist movements are stronger and especially uninhibited in other European countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Hungary, Sweden, and France (through the Front National). Marine Le Pen, the only French politician who supported Trump’s victory is now running a Trump-style populist campaign and calls for closer ties with Russia.

Two major causes could explain this breakdown in Europe.

The financial and debt crisis in Southern countries like Greece and Spain has raised anti-austerity populist groups such as Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece. EU has also been forced to cope with the biggest immigration flow of the last half-century sparked by the turmoil in Syria. This immigration issue took on an important political dimension in the last two years. European nations have opposing views, questioning the Schengen area. Even very liberal states like Sweden have been in trouble regarding this historical humanitarian event with the rising of a new far-right in their country.

The Germans’ policy regarding the migrants, while harshly criticized by Donald Trump, could have been a European exception regarding other policies such as the one led by Budapest, driving the EU to closing borders.

Brexit, the rise of the Front National in France and the anti-union parties in Southern nations of the EU are serious indicators that alarm observers regarding a possible EU dissolution.

The Russian Western Leader 

Following the tightening of relations between Russia and the European Union during the crisis in Ukraine and the Russian annexation of Crimea, which led to U.S. and European sanctions against its historical partner, the traditional geopolitical Eastern-Western block opposition seems to have taken a sharp turn. Indeed, one of the best examples could be Russia’s active diplomacy on several international issues.

Nationalist movements observed in Europe and in the U.S. seduce Vladimir Putin. Moscow and the West (EU and NATO) have opposing and competing visions of the world and divergent strategic priorities. While NATO functions as a supra-national organization ensuring a collective security, Russia places national security and state sovereignty as the base of its world conception, and Donald Trump seems to agree.

Thus, Russia is regaining in international recognition. Beyond Russia’s seat at the Security Council and the right to veto, recent events confirm this observation with Russia’s influence in Syria, during the U.S. presidential election, and possibly in France through the reign of François Fillon or Marine Le Pen.

Indeed, Putin’s alliance with Assad in Syria allows them to think about a possible victory against the resistance and against ISIS. According to the Russian strategy (hidden by its energy interests in Syria), President Assad is a solution not as bad as an ISIS victory in Syria. As in other past armed conflicts, Moscow is, once again, positioning itself as a solution to end the war.

The former Prime Minister, François Fillon, a serious candidate for the French Presidency, is officially supporting the Russia-Syria alliance and Putin’s behavior. His election in France would create a new leverage in Europe for Russia. President Trump is also supporting the alliance between Vladimir Putin and Bashar Al-Assad while de facto supporting his own victory and legitimacy in the U.S. President Trump has already withdrawn the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP); a possible economic deal with Moscow could create new strategic issues, notably questioning NATO, which the new President has disparaged.

An Impossible Security Union 

“NATO is obsolete.” Adding to this notion his serious lack of interest for the EU, future diplomacy between the U.S. and the EU is going to be tricky. Encouraging the continent that produced two world wars to dissolve could be dangerous. “The EU will, and perhaps should, lose more members.” By saying so, President Trump is effectively telling Europe to rearm itself, especially during a rising sense of insecurity due to a wave of terrorist attacks (France, Belgium, Germany) and a border-closing tendency.  Could the Old Continent return to its old days of geopolitical competition?

Unless NATO provides absolute military security, the EU’s economic and operational security and European sovereignty could remain embryonic. But this may also prove to be impossible.

In terms of figures, military forces and budgets between the member states are heterogeneous. This is essential to understanding the impossible union on security. For instance, France is the main military power with 10.38% of the military force in the area. The UK comes in second with 7.50% of the military force.

A country like Denmark has extremely limited capabilities to ensure the security of its immense maritime territory with Greenland (respectively 2,186,000 km2 and 615,000 km2). Since World War II, Denmark has delegated a big part of its defense to the U.S. and UK—today two euro-sceptic countries.

In terms of strategy, a European military cooperation could be bilateral between two states or multilateral by gathering states around a common political approach. The pooling of European forces comprises three levels: 1) interoperability, 2) the essential technical and operational starting point, and 3) the pooling and the sharing of forces. There was a European security strategy adopted in 2003 and evaluated in 2008, but there is still no European Defense White Paper.

Moreover, international cooperation can lead to what can be called the three traps of multilateralism: 1) to be left alone in an operation because a partner removes its troops, 2) not being able to participate in an operation because a partner with significant military abilities does not want to participate, and 3) give to others who wouldn’t make any significant national effort for security, taking advantage of the opportunity to be present at a lower cost.

There is therefore a legal or moral obligation to act, which limits the exercise of national sovereignty.

The year 2017 will be a transitional one when it comes to the new world order. Many factors such as the results of the elections in Europe, the evolution of ISIS or the policy that will follow Trump and Putin will be expected indicators that will confirm or deny the worrying new world order.

About the author: Victor Chauvet is a contributor to several think tanks, such as IPSE and Hudson Institute. He is also a consultant in risk management. His primary research interests include regional integration process and globalization challenges applied to geostrategy. Victor has published research work in several outlets and has published monographs about Arctic issues, Russia, and Europe. This article appeared at Diplomatic Courier, and is reprinted with permission.

Iran And Russia: Let’s Learn From History – OpEd

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By Elaheh Koolaee

The history of relations between Iran and the Soviet Union, and especially, the impact of the international system on these relations are thought-provoking and advantageous. The relations between the two states during the two decades before the Islamic Revolution of Iran were unique in the Soviet relations with a state from the Third World. The Imperial Iran experienced broad relations in the 1960s and the 1970s with the Soviet Union, and these relations could be found with the member states of the Eastern Bloc. But Iran, playing a significant role in securing the US interests in the Persian Gulf within the framework of the Twin Pillars policy of the US President, Nixon, in the Middle East, had experienced relations with the Soviet Union in the two decades before the Iranian revolution that was unique among the states belonging to the Western Bloc.

The relations were affected by the US role. The Soviet approach evolved during the decades following the October Revolution, and the Soviet Union considered the role and image of Iran in the world as a state who had to prepare the conditions for a revolution in alignment with the Communist system, and accordingly, the relationship between the two states developed. This relationship started from the Treaty of Friendship (1921) with Reza Shah, and coincided with the end of the Jungle Movement of Gilan, and since then Iran, under the Shah’s regime, became the party involved in the relationship with the Soviet revolutionary government. This relationship was formed with ideological requirements, on the one hand, and with the geopolitical requirements, on the other hand. Though, the Soviet foreign policy was ideological, the geopolitical approach dominated it.

After World War II, the issues regarding the evacuation of Iran by the Red Army, the north oil reserves and the Tudeh Party were raised. The Soviet policy against Dr. Mossadegh, the then Prime Minister of Iran, showed the contradictions in the relationship between Iran and the Soviet Union. The withdrawal of the Red Army from Iran and the issue of Azerbaijan and the 1953 Iranian coup d’état changed the relationship between the two states under the influence of the international equation and power change. The Soviet-Iranian relations continued to the uprising of June 1963, but the Soviet government’s approach toward the White Revolution and the program for economic and social (minus the political) modernization is also important. The Tudeh Party was also active at this time in Iran.

Finally, up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran, the economic ties between Iran and the Soviet Union were unparalleled. In fact, the Iranian government’s obligations on the issue that her soil would not be a place for stationing missiles against the Soviet Union were very important. Technological advances essentially reduced the necessity of this issue for the US, and the need for détente between the US and the Soviet Union after the Cuban missile crisis also paved the way for the reopening of relations between Iran and the Soviet Union. Of course, this only took place in the economic field.

As the Iranian needs were met by the Soviet Union, the Iran’s dependence on the US was prevented, and that is why Iran was growing. The more the relations between Iran and the Soviet Union grew, the more the relations between Iran and the US were prevented. By strengthening the geopolitical approach in the modern Russian policy, in the past two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, except the first decade that the idealistic approach prevailed in Russia, the ground for the development of relations between Iran and Russia was provided.

Iran should be evaluated in terms of the Soviet approach to the Middle East and the need to develop relations with the Middle East. We can see the reconstruction of these behavior patterns in the past two decades with some change occurring in the relations between the two states. Therefore, this historical experience helps us understand the potentials in the development of relations. The program for stabilizing the geopolitical relationship is in the nature of Iran’s geopolitical requirements that will help consolidate the relations, and provide mutual interests.

Greece: Government Could Replace Classic Literature With ‘Gender Studies’– OpEd

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Teachers in Greece have criticised plans by the left-wing Soros run government to scrap the mandatory study of Ancient Greek tragedy in high schools and introduce instead classes on gender and sex education, saying that this could bring about the end of classical studies.

The plan to drop Antigone by Sophocles comes after Pericles’ Funeral Oration from Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, was removed.

The government says it is trying to update the antiquated curriculum and devote more time to teaching modern Greek and new subjects, including gender equality, same-sex marriages and sex education.

“This is preposterous,” Antonis Mastrapas, of the National Federation of Classical Studies Professors, said. “Not even during Greece’s gruelling years of dictatorship were the works of ancient masters like Sophocles and Thucydides were tossed to the curb.

If passed, the move would be another blow to Classical scholarship, which is in retreat across much of the world.

Greek students have an obvious advantage since ancient Athenian texts – dating to around 450BC – are similar enough to the modern language that they could be read as easily as an English speaker might approach Chaucer.

Elsewhere, studying Greek texts in the original is an increasingly elite discipline, mostly confined to Classics departments in elite universities.

The irony is that many see the replacement of Greek Classical Tragedies with Gender Studies a tragedy in itself.


North Korea: Test Missile Flies 500km, Lands In Sea Of Japan

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North Korea on Sunday launched a missile in the direction of Japan, South Korean and Pentagon officials have said. Although the projectile landed into the sea before reaching Japan’s economic zone, it alarmed the military amid Pyongyang’s claim of developing an ICBM.

“The flight distance was about 500 kilometres, and South Korea and the United States are conducting a close-up analysis on additional information,” South Korea’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

“US Strategic Command systems detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch at 4:55 p.m. CST…The missile was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan,” the Pentagon said as quoted by Reuters. It added that the launch never posed a threat to the US, calling the projectile “a medium- or intermediate-range ballistic missile.”

South Korean military earlier said that the missile “appears not be an ICBM in terms of range,” as cited by Yonhap news agency. Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang was preparing to test a new intercontinental ballistic missile in his New Year speech.

The suspected missile type is Hwasong-10, or Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a range of 3,000 kilometers.

“Our assessment is that it is part of a show of force in response to the new US administration’s hardline position against the North,” the military said.

The launch comes just a day after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, during which Trump emphasized US military support for Japan, calling their alliance “a cornerstone of peace, prosperity, and freedom” in a joint statement.

The leaders also pledged to exert joint pressure on North Korea, “strongly” urging it to scrap the nuclear and ballistic missile programs and “not take any further provocative actions.”

Trump’s administration was expecting the “provocation” to take place, and is now mulling a response, a source told Reuters.

“This was no surprise. The North Korean leader likes to draw attention at times like this,” the unnamed source said, adding that new sanctions on Pyongyang, an increased presence of the US Navy and Air Force in the region, or an indirect attempt to pressure North Korea into stopping the tests are being considered.

Reportedly, Trump could attempt to “step up pressure on China” to end the tests, the official said.

Meanwhile, Abe said the launch was “absolutely unacceptable.” He spoke at a joint news conference with Trump, who added that the US is “behind Japan, our great ally, 100 percent.”

On January 1, Kim Jong-un said that “research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and ICBM rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage.”

This prompted a response from then-US President-elect Trump.

“North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won’t happen!” Trump tweeted at the time.

North Korea has repeatedly claimed it was close to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile able to carry a nuclear warhead as far as the West Coast of the US. Despite frequent launch failures and absence of evidence Pyongyang’s missiles were getting close to such a capability, Washington has been closely following the development with concern.

The last time North Korea claimed to have launched a long-range ballistic missile, it was hit by a new round of sanctions by the UNSC. Following the launch of a satellite on February 7, 2015, that was preceded by the country’s fourth nuclear test on January 6, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2270. The document further restricted trade with North Korea, envisioning mandatory inspection of all cargo leaving or entering the North Korean territory. All imports and transfers of small arms and light weapons to the country were also blocked.

US Defense Chief Mattis To Attend NATO Meeting, Munich Conference

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US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will embark next week on his second trip as secretary to attend a NATO Defense Ministerial and the Munich Security Conference, according to a DoD news release.

Departing on Feb. 14, Mattis will begin his trip in Brussels in Belgium, where he will meet counterparts from NATO member-nations and, separately, host a meeting of ministers from the counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria coalition, the release said.

On Feb. 17, Mattis will attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where he will have a series of meetings with key international counterparts, the release said.

The trip will underscore the commitment of the United States to the NATO alliance and to defeating ISIS, according to the release.

Growing India-Vietnam Strategic Ties Has Implication For Region – Analysis

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By Maj. Gen. P.K. Chakravorty (Retd)*

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam on September 2-3, 2016. The visit was the first by an Indian Prime Minister after 15 years. Twelve agreements were signed during the visit which included cooperation in outer space, UN peace keeping, avoidance of double-taxation, cyber security, information technology, information on white shipping and contract for procurement of offshore patrol vessels.

Further based on the strong relations which have been vindicated during the last 44 years of diplomatic relations and nine years of strategic partnership, both countries agreed to elevate their current level of strategic partnership to a higher level. The relationship would be upgraded to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which Vietnam currently enjoys with Russia and China.

This is pertinent as it gives an official stamp to the mutual trust exhibited in our training and day-to-day dealings. With regard to the defence issue, there is no doubt that both countries respect the recent Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the South China Sea and they agree to the freedom of navigation on the high seas.

To further strengthen the defence relationship, Prime Minister Modi extended a $500 million Line of Credit for purchase of defence equipment. The list of equipment to be procured is not exactly known but there is a high probability it could be frigates, submarines or the BrahMos missile. Vietnam during the visit signed a contract with L&T for purchase of four Offshore Patrol Vessels.

In addition, Prime Minister Modi announced a grant of $5 million for the construction of an Army Software Park at the Telecommunications University in Nha Trang. Further to assist surveillance, there will be cooperation in downloading images from outer space to provide real-time picture of activities in Vietnam’s area of interest.

Economic issues formed an important aspect of the visit. Enhancing bilateral economic engagement is a strategic objective. Both countries would do their utmost to increase the bilateral trade to $15 billion by 2020. This would need immense efforts but can be achieved if both countries enhance their business interactions and diversify their range of commercial activities. Further, there must be increased two-way investment especially by private investors of both countries.

Prime Minister Modi especially sought contractual facilitation of Tata’s Soc Tranh 1320 MW plant at the earliest. Both countries would do their best to enhance exploration of oil and gas in the new blocks allotted for exploration. Connectivity between both the countries needs to be optimised. There is need for direct non-stop flights, dedicated shipping and land connectivity to be optimised. This would automatically strengthen economic relations between the two countries.

It was indeed creditable that both countries exhibited the highest degree of cooperation in regional and international forums. Prime Minister Modi was grateful to Vietnam for consistently supporting India’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed Security Council. It was further decided that India would support Vietnam’s candidature for non-permanent seat for the term 2020-2021 and Vietnam would similarly support India’s candidature for the same in 2021-2022. Overall, India and Vietnam relations moved to a higher trajectory during the visit.

India and Vietnam enjoy strong strategic relations which emerged with the First Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence being signed in 1994, the formal Defence Protocol in 2000 and the Strategic Partnership in 2007. Ever since, we have an annual Strategic Defence Dialogue with the Indian Defence Secretary representing India. Considering the intensity of the bilateral relations, the upgradation of these talks to the Ministerial levels would commence.

The Cam Ranh Bay has been often described as one of the jewels of Vietnam. The long protective seaward peninsula, natural inner and outer harbours form what many believe to be possibly the best deep water sea port facility in the entire world. There is also an air force base with excellent runways for state-of-the-art aircraft. The usage of these facilities by the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force would help India strengthen its strategic partnership and enable us to undertake actions to protect our assets in the South China Sea. The area is being quietly considered between the two countries.

Based on Vietnam’s requirements, India could provide Dornier surveillance aircrafts, mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), upgraded T-72 tanks and indigenously manufactured artillery equipment once the same has proved trials and a few old ships of the Indian Navy. Vietnam is currently procuring Offshore Patrol Vessels with the line of credit offered.

Vietnam is impressed with India’s missile development and is keen to purchase the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos which could be used on land and sea. The issue merits serious consideration as there are no objections from the foreign joint developer. Vietnam is also keen that opportunity be accorded to train their scientists in missile technology and running of nuclear reactors.

Vietnam admires the professional training of the Indian armed forces and looks forward to assistance in training in the following areas:

  • Conversion training for SU-30 pilots of the Peoples Vietnam Air Force by the Indian Air Force;
  • Submarine crew training of the Peoples Vietnam Navy by the Indian Navy;
  • Training in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare with the Indian Army; and
  • Training in English language.

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang as also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc were frank in strengthening defence relations with India. Vietnam would like to cooperate in the field of training as also gaining knowledge in the field of rocketry and missiles. It would be in India’s interest to cultivate Vietnam and cooperate in strategic aspects to dissuade China from undertaking a misadventure.

Vietnam is looking for cooperation in areas of outer space with India. They have already launched two satellites and are planning their own navigation satellites. Cooperation with India would be mutually beneficial to both countries. India is also setting up receiving stations to enable Vietnam receive downloads from Indian Reconnaissance Satellites on the areas bound by the South China Sea.

Vietnam, along with Japan, forms the two pillars of India’s Act East Policy and New Delhi’s partnership with Hanoi in the strategic domain is important to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region. The Modi government in India is accelerating measures to further strengthen the bonds of friendship. This would lead to better stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

*Major General P.K. Chakravorty (Retd) is a veteran Indian Army officer who served as Defence Attache at the Indian Embassy in Hanoi.

India’s Second Scorpene Submarine: Projecting Naval Power In Indian Ocean – Analysis

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By Neha Gupta*

On January 12, 2017, India successfully launched Khanderi, its second Kalvari-class Scorpene submarine despite the flutter caused by the leak of secret data on the capabilities of these highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in collaboration with French defence company DCNS. According to Indian Navy traditions, Khanderi has been named after her distinguished predecessor, a former ‘Foxtrot’ class submarine which was decommissioned in 1989 after two decades of service to the country. The submarine got its name Khanderi after the historical island fort of Maratha forces which played a fundamental role in ensuring their dominance at sea in the late 17th century.

Scorpene is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines which have been jointly developed by the French Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) and the Spanish company Navantia, and now by DCNS. It features diesel propulsion and additional air-independent propulsion. As a state-of-the-art conventional submarine, with advanced stealth features, Scorpene can undertake multifarious types of missions typically undertaken by any modern submarine, such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance and the like.

India is among the few countries in the world which produce conventional submarines. December 8, 1967, the day of the commissioning of its first submarine, INS Kalvari, is celebrated every year as the Submarine Day. In the last five decades, India has built and commissioned several submarines, viz; Shalki, Shankul, Sindhugosh, Sindhudhvaj, Sindhuraj, Sindhuvir, Sindhuratna, Sindhukesari, Sindhukirti, Sindhuvijay, Sindhushashtra, Shishumar, and Shankush.

India has contracted six Scorpene submarines from DCNS of France to be built locally with technology transfer. As per the agreement, the state-owned Mazagon Docks in Mumbai was to construct the submarines, and deliver them between 2012 and 2016. However the project is running four years behind schedule and the Indian Navy now intends to induct all six by 2020. Khanderi, will undertake rigorous tests and trials in harbour and at sea, and on the surface and underwater to its fullest capacity before being commissioned. The submarine will begin sea trials in March and complete them by December. The commissioning of the Khanderi would be dependent on the monsoon as trials cannot be conducted during the three to five month period.

The modern characteristics of the Scorpene submarine encompass advanced stealth technology and the ability to launch crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons. Khanderi has been constructed using the “modular construction” method which means that its manufacturing was segregated in several divisions and the separate units were then installed together. This task involved placing kms upon kms of cables and pipes in enormously packed compartments. The most significant safety goal, called “vacuum testing”, was completed in the very first attempt and on a single day. This success matched the record of the earlier Scorpene submarine, Kalvari, which also finished these tests in one go — an achievement matchless in submarine building history.

Beijing’s emergence as a naval power has become a serious concern for the Indian Navy. This has so emerged after the appearance of an image on Google earth that highlighted a Chinese nuclear submarine docked in Karachi port in May 2016. “At least one Chinese submarine has been continuously deployed in the Indian Ocean while others are in movement to replace it,” according to Indian defence sources. Even though they just “pass through” making a statement of their capability and reach. Early this week Admiral Harry Harris, Chief of U.S. Pacific Command said there has been “sharing of information regarding Chinese maritime movement in the IOR” between India and the U.S.

The Indian Navy is anxious about Chinese submarines following the activities of Indian ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean. Adding to India’s worries, Pakistan is believed to be in the process of purchasing eight Type 039A/Type 041 Yuan-class diesel-electric submarines from Beijing supplementing the already existing three French Agosta-90B/Khalid and two Agosta-70 submarines of the Pakistan Navy.

Most of India’s conventional submarines are more than 20 years old and are reaching the end of their service life. Meanwhile, China, which has been speedily growing its Navy, has between 12 and 15 nuclear submarines of all types which have either been commissioned or are in an advanced stage of construction. Furthermore, China operates 56 conventionally-powered submarines, making it the second largest operator of submarines in the world. This has increased the unease of Indian authorities as China’s capabilities are more than four times that of India.

India, at present, operates 13 Russian- and German-designed diesel-electric submarines with the first of six new French-designed Scorpene-class submarines yet to come into service. The Indian Navy expects to induct two Scorpene diesel-electric submarines into service this year and launch a third submarine into water. The first of the Scorpenes, Kalvari, is expected to finish sea trials by May and is on track to be inducted before the monsoon. The aim is to commission the second submarine(Khanderi) this year. The third Scorpene submarine ‘Vela’ will be launched into water this year after the monsoons. Vela has already been ‘booted up’, which means all the sections have been assembled.

India has, planned to lease a second nuclear attack submarine from Russia and build six nuclear attack submarines in Visakhapatnam. Although they have planned to acquire submarines from different sources, the work is still at the pen-to-paper phase. India is speeding up to counter China by building conventional and nuclear submarines with German, French and Russian assistance.

The building of Khanderi is considered to be the beginning of a new chapter in India’s submarine capabilities, even though, India is suffering from current and prospective defence budget constraints, many prominent strategic analysts argue. Lack of funds has a direct impact on the war-fighting orientations on the one hand and the ability to provide net security in the region on the other. This project has rekindled hopes about the defence security of India and its ability to assert power undersea.

*Neha Gupta is a research scholar at Dibrugarh University. Comments and suggestions on this article can be sent to editor@spsindia.in

Trump’s Immigration Policy Cannot Stand Legal Scrutiny

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By Prof. Nafees Ahmad*

The refugee crisis exploded on the global landscape in 2015 cautioning the comity of nations that refugees are not socio-political resources. The year 2016 corroborated that the refugee crisis is not going to be a vanishing point of human existentialism. It also made available an opportunity to address the plight of flight of refugees in 2017. It is now incumbent upon the comity of nations in 2017 to have an agenda of legal and ethical ramifications to motivate the refugees to promote transformation in their country of origin as the fourth sustainable solution in tune with three durable solutions.

First is voluntary repatriation, second is integration in the country of shelter and third is resettlement in a third country. The international community has been paying considerable attention to refugees at staggering stages of international discourse including the deliberations done at Davos in the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in 2015. In spite of this, there are 65.3 million refugees in the world as recorded by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2016 and one out of every 113 people on this planet is a refugee.

Globally, 2016 witnessed refugee exoduses of high-scale and many thousands of them lost their lives while crossing the Mediterranean Sea en route to European countries. These refugees have been sheltered in cities where their needs are growing day-by-day leading to a backlash against these refugees in the host societies.

US President Donald Trump’s executive order banning the entry of refugees into US from specified countries — Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen and Libya — has sent shock waves. The impugned order is not only violative of American constitutional values and its history of democracy of diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism based on equality, liberty and fraternity but also in circumvention of legal and ethical commitments under international law.

The idea of human rights in the preceding century has also been echoed by Louis Henkin of the US as “ours is the age of rights” that recognises the inalienability of equality constitutionalism in the American way of life. President Trump has eviscerated the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (UNCSR) and international protection regime contemplated thereunder for refugees. International Refugee Law (IRL) — the resurgent branch of international law — proscribes the banning of entry of refugees in the country of refuge.

Refugees are protected under UNCSR and its 1967 Additional Protocol (UNCSR Protocol) and UNHCR has been established as the principal subsidiary organisation for looking after refugees worldwide. With the passage of time, these international refugee protection arrangements came to be known as International Refugee Law (IRL) complemented by a vast pool of international human rights instruments. Today, there are as many as 145 countries who are party to UNCSR and 146 countries who are party to UNCSR Additional Protocol that was also acceded by the US on November 1, 1968.

The UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries met in Geneva in 1951 to deliberate and draft a Convention addressing the rights, duties and legal status of refugees in conformity with the decision of the UN General Assembly Resolution 429 (V) of December 14, 1950. Consequently, UNCSR was adopted on July 28, 1951 and came into force on April 22, 1954. UNCSR, which consolidates all previous international instruments pertaining to refugees, postulates the most comprehensive codification of rights of refugees ever endeavored at international plane.

UNCSR stipulates fundamental minimum international standards for the refugees and their treatment without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin, political opinion or social origin and devoid of any prejudice or practice pursued by states that is detrimental to the overall interests of refugees. UNCSR also contains multiple safeguards against the detention and expulsion of refugees and provides provisions for their documentation and granting refugee travel document in the passport form.

Many states grant that this document is at par with ‘Nansen Passport’ which was issued during the inter-war period. UNCSR provisions are so fundamental that no derogation, exemption or reservation may be permitted thereunder. These consist of two significant clauses of “refugee’ (Article-1 of UNCSR) and principle of “non-refoulement” (Article-33 of UNCSR) whereunder no ‘Contracting State’ shall expel or return or “refouler” a refugee contrary to his or her will to territory of persecution. Similarly, Article-3 of 1984 UN Convention against Torture (CAT) incorporates the same principle of “non-returning” or expelling of any person to the persecutors’ territory. However, UNCSR does not cover Palestinian refugees who are protected by the UN agencies other than UNHCR like UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The ambit of UNSCR was initially limited to intra-European refugees in the wake of World War II but with the emergence of new refugee situations, it was realised by the comity of nations to apply the UNCSR to those new waves of refugees beyond Europe. Therefore, 1967 Additional Protocol was adopted commensurate with the UN General Assembly Resolution 2198 (XXI) of December 16, 1966 and become operational on January 31, 1967 that has made UNSCR universally applicable and dispensed with the geo-political limitation. However, many of the provisions of UNCSR have attained the status of jus cogens (pre-emptory norms of international law) wherefrom no exemption or reservation is possible even under Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties, 1969 as has been the practice of many states.

The history of the US has been rich and magnanimous in hosting refugees and migrants from different ethno-racial backgrounds since its reach to people of all civilisations. But its refugee protection system has got emasculated over the last two decades. The emerging refugee populations and their diverse needs in post-9/11 scenario have exposed severe limitations in the standard resettlement approach. But in post-World War II period, the US distinguished between “refugee” and “immigrant” and laid down a policy whereunder refugees were addressed specifically — that too outside the immigration policy.

Consequently, a slew of legislations like the Displaced Persons Act, 1948, the Immigration and Nationality Act, 1952, the Refugee Relief Act, 1953 and Refugee-Escape Act, 1957 were initially enacted by the US Congress. However, the Immigration and Nationality Act, 1952 was later amended in 1965 by enacting Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, 1965 wherein the policy for refugees on a case by case basis was incorporated and it was the first Act that has consolidated the US immigration policy to further attend the questions of immigration, migration and nationality of refugees and migrants.

However, the US has promulgated the United States Refugee Act, 1980 that amended previous legislations (i.e. Immigration and Nationality Act, 1952 and Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, 1965) to make provisions for permanent, comprehensive, systematic and uniform procedure to admit refugees of exceptional humanitarian interests to US by incorporating identical definition of term “refugee” provided in UNCSR Additional Protocol of 1967. Thus, US Refugee Act, 1980 envisaged a pragmatic resettlement and assimilation programme for admitted refugees in the US.

Therefore, the Refugee Act of 1980 was the first consolidated and comprehensive legislation promulgated by President Jimmy Carter on March 17, 1980 applicable to the realities of modern refugee situations in clear-cut terms with operative and malleable machinery in place called US Refugee Admission Program (RAP). But RAP has been grappling with significant challenges including enhanced security reviews, scant harmonization between government and NGOs and fluid policy conflicts between the objectives of sheltering the extremely defenseless.

President Trump’s executive order banning refugees in the US is discriminatory and counter-productive and bound to isolate the US from its allies and governments who have been supporting its “war on terror” project since the post- 9/11 tragedy. This discrimination is two-fold, one is discrimination among the states that violates the principle of sovereign equality under Article 1 (2) and Article 2 (4) of UN Charter-1945 and second is violation of equality on the ground of nationality or political opinion under Article-1 (A) of the 1967 Additional Protocol to UNCSR.

Of late, it has been established that a few states have been supporting, practising and exporting terrorism but what about the genuine victims of persecution and massive violations of human rights in these seven countries whose refugees have been banned. The America First Policy (AFP) is also a dangerous doctrine because of its one sidedness. AFP and its contours have not been made clear by the Trump administration as it poses more questions than giving answers. Does AFP address the “theory of American interests” outside the US in whose name an interventionist agenda has been most conspicuous and inalienable narrative of US foreign policy that has been perennially jeopardizing the principle of sovereign equality and nudges international relations in violation of “Monroe Doctrine” of US?

Further, what is the fault of the people of the banned countries who suffered because of US policies in these countries? Will the Trump administration re-build, re-construct and restore the pristine glory of these countries? Will the US under Trump abdicate its policy of forced regime change (FRC) in countries that do not support it on many issues of national and international importance? However, FRC policy has led to armed conflicts of international implications in Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen and Libya and many more countries wherein the people have got enormously displaced and these countries have produced only refugees.

On January 28, 2017 two Iraqi refugees Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi were detained at JFK airport following Trump’s executive order and they were inhumanly treated by the immigration officials despite the fact that Darweesh worked 10 years for the US in Iraq and Alshawi too worked for a US contractor and was visiting the US to join his wife and young son. Accordingly, their attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus in Downtown Brooklyn Court and got them released within next twenty four hours.

Likewise, many such incidents of detention of refugees were also reported from US airports following the implementation of the executive order since Friday night i.e. 27.01.2017. Correspondingly, counteractions have also emerged in Iran who stated to limit the visas to US nationals in the name of reciprocity and dignity of the Iranian nation. Thus, more such retaliatory measures might be resorted to by rest of the countries in the coming weeks. There are many more apprehensions like does President Trump want pre-multi-cultural, pre-pluralism and pre-multi-racial America in the name of AFP? Is it his surreptitious agenda?

Nevertheless, President Trump’s Executive Order has presented an unprecedented challenge to the well-established and vibrant American institutions wedded with democracy, rule of law, human rights, judicial review and independence of judiciary to respond to the high handedness of US border security forces, immigration officials and law enforcement agencies in cases of refugee detention, asylum denial and decimation of human rights of uprooted people.

The position of aliens under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) has been enunciated in UN Human Rights Committee’s (UNHRC) General Comment No.15 whereunder it states that “it is in principle a matter for the State to decide who it will admit to its territory. However, in certain circumstances an alien may enjoy the protection of the Covenant even in relation to entry or residence, for example, when considerations of non-discrimination, prohibition of inhuman treatment and respect for family life arise.” Similarly, instant position is further crystalised in UNHRC General Comment No.8 which concedes that “the ICCPR prohibits discrimination in law or in fact in any field regulated and protected by public authorities.”

Further, in the racial and religious discrimination framework, Article 1 (3) of The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) imposes limitations of constitutional merits under international law that states, “Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as affecting in any way the legal provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship or naturalization, provided that such provisions do not discriminate against any particular nationality.”

Furthermore, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)’s General Recommendation states that “[e]nsure that legislative guarantees against racial discrimination apply to non-citizens regardless of their immigration status, and that the implementation of legislation does not have a discriminatory effect on non-citizens.” Yet CERD also lays down that States “[e]nsure that immigration policies do not have the effect of discriminating against persons on the basis of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin,” with the purpose of adhering the principles of the Convention.

Therefore, the latest immigration policy under Trump’s executive order is unequivocally discriminatory and it cannot stand judicial scrutiny under municipal legal system of US and international law.

There are not many decisions of US Supreme Court in the field of refugees’ protection that have made the task of appreciating the judicial line of argument tougher. But the US Supreme Court in an important case of Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc., 509 US 155 [1993] ruled that all foreigners captured on the high seas could be deported and that the President’s executive order in this regard was not restricted by the Immigration and Nationality Act, 1952 or UNCSR’s Article-33. The US Supreme Court interpretation in the instant case has adversely affected the IRL system owing to its approbation of stopping and returning Haitians at sea without verifying the antecedents and credentials of persons fleeing persecution contrary to highest principle of non-refoulement embodied in IRL.

But prior to the Sale ruling, in the case of Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Predrag Stevic, 467 US 407 [1984], the US Supreme Court evolved a test of “Clear Probability” whereupon a refugee has to prove that he would be persecuted if deported to his country of origin. However, in Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421 [1987], the US Supreme Court held that “Clear Probability” standard was too high to satisfy the asylum claims.

Therefore, the US Supreme Court preferred the UN standard of “well-founded fear of being persecuted” that can be met by the asylum applicants in case of deportation to their home country. Therefore, it is axiomatic that the idea of liberal internationalism has always been the touchtone of US refugee protection policy but the latest executive order of President Trump banning refugees into the US amounts to shirking its international and humanitarian obligations under international law and refugee jurisprudence developed by the municipal legal system of United States barring few aberrations.

But the question that still remains unanswered is: Will Trump be a trump for refugees or he trumps them? Is Trump a trump?

*Dr. Nafees Ahmad is Assistant Professor, Faculty of Legal Studies, South Asian University (SAARC)-New Delhi. Comments and suggestions on this article can be sent to editor@spsindia.in

Why Does China Keep Coming To Pakistan’s Aid? – Analysis

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By Namrata Hasija*

China has yet again proved that it is indeed Pakistan’s ‘all weather friend’ by blocking a US-led proposal at the UN to brand Masood Azhar a global terrorist. This is the second time Beijing has come to Islamabad’s aid. The move which was jointly put forward by the US, France and UK unlike, last year when India moved the proposal, was blocked by China yet again. It was last week when Pakistan apparently took some action against Masood by putting him under house arrest. Many analysts dismissed this as a deceiving strategy.

Why is China protecting Masood Azhar and risk being the only country among the 15-member 1267 counter terrorism committee of the UN Security Council objecting to India’s application to list Azhar, who is accused of masterminding the Pathankot terror attack?

China’s protection of Masood Azhar is a part of its strategy to protect Pakistan from being labelled as a country which supports terrorists and organizations funding it. This would lead to diplomatic isolation for Pakistan and risk China’s huge investments in the region before for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China supports Pakistan on these issues to protect certain terrorists’ organizations turning against Pakistan. If these organizations turn against Pakistan it would risk the infrastructure programs being initiated under the CPEC. Secondly, it needs Pakistan to combat terrorism in its western Muslim-majority province of Xinjiang.

Moreover, if Pakistan is proved to be a terrorist supporter it will also reflect on its close ally, China. Recently Pakistan and Russia’s relations have also improved which further helps China to consolidate its position in Central Asia and begin multilateral dialogues on regional cooperation and security in relation to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

These moves will help China to consolidate its position in the region but at what risk? The Jaish e Mohammed (JeM) is already a UN-designated terrorist organization but blocking a move to label Azhar as a terrorist only shows China’s double standards on terrorism and its support to Pakistan’s especially on terrorists could culminate into regional tension sooner or later.

*Namrata Hasija is a Research Associate, Society for Policy Studies (SPS) and President, Taiwan Alumni Association in India. Comments and suggestions on this article can be sent to editor@spsindia.in

Vatican Bars Sodalit Founder From Contact With Members

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A newly released decree from the Vatican’s congregation for religious life states that the founder of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, Luis Fernando Figari, may not have contact with members of the community.

A Jan. 30 decree of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life addressed to the superior general of the Sodalitium, Alessandro Moroni Llabres, directs him to order that Figari be “prohibited from contacting, in any way, persons belonging to the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, and no way have any direct personal contact with them.”

The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae is a society of apostolic life which was founded in 1971 in Peru, and granted pontifical recognition in 1997. CNA’s executive director, Alejandro Bermúdez, and its global director of operations, Ryan Thomas, are both members of the community.

The decree, obtained by CNA Feb. 10, is a fruit of an apostolic visitation made by Bishop Fortunato Pablo Urcey, Prelate of Chota, who was charged with investigating allegations of sexual and psychological abuse committed by Figari. The dicastery had first received accusations against Figari in 2011.

The visitation resulted “in the conviction that Mr. Figari, during his many years as Superior General of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, had adopted a style of government excessively or improperly authoritarian, directed to impose one’s own will, not willing to accept any form of dialogue and fraternal and sincere confrontation, nor sensitive to the convictions and demands of others, and therefore not prone to understand, appreciate and accept, even partially, opinions different from his own.”

In addition, Figari, “in order to obtain the obedience of his brothers, used improper strategies and methods of persuasion, that is to say, underhanded, arrogant and nonetheless violent and disrespectful of the right to the inviolability of one’s own interiority and discretion, and therefore to the freedom of the human person to independently discern the proposals or decisions.”

The congregation wrote that they consider it credible that Figari committed the crime of abuse of office, as outlined in canon 1389.

“Numerous witnesses have consistently asserted that, in order to manipulate, to make them dependent and therefore to control more than to direct consciences, especially of young people in formation, Mr. Figari has also asked, in an improper and in any case excessive, confidences in the sensitive field of sexuality, and in some cases has committed acts contrary to the VI Commandment.”

It added, however, that according to documentation that it had received through April 2016 the persons, with whom Figari had violated the commandment that “thou shalt not commit adultery”, all of whom belong in some way to the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, were all “much older than 16” when the events occurred.

Moreover, it added that Figari’s abuse, while it could be “considered severely sinful”, cannot be affirmed with moral certainty as constituting child abuse or violence, as outlined in canon 1395.

Yet the decree also states that documentation it found in May 2016 clearly shows that “Figari, before 2001, committed some acts against the VI Commandment with some young people in formation in the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, of which, with certainty at least in one case occurred in 1974, with a person under 16 years of age.”

It stated that Figari and his lawyer have been notified of the charges made against him.

Figari’s crime of abuse of office cannot be prosecuted because of a statute of limitations, however, and he cannot be prosecuted for his abuse of minors under canon 1395 because he is a layman, and not a cleric – the only persons covered by that canon.

However, his sexual abuse of minors means he is to be dismissed from his institute, unless “the superior decides that dismissal is not completely necessary and that correction of the member, restitution of justice, and reparation of scandal can be resolved sufficiently in another way.”

The congregation determined that Figari does not have to be expelled from the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, citing his abuse having taken place “in the very distant past”; his being the founder of the community “and therefore the mediator of a charisma of divine origin”; his age and poor health; his manifested willingness to collaborate; that Bishop Pablo “verified that there are no current members of the apostolic life Society who support Mr. Figari or who are particularly attached to him in government positions or in the formation”; and that the Sodalits’ current government “are clearly aware of the mistakes made in the past by Mr. Figari and that there is firm determination of the General Government to free itself of the style of government and formation adopted by him in the course of the many years in which he has directed the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, as well as remedying, as much as possible and in any case what is just, to the harm caused to anyone.”

It directed that Moroni, in addition to keeping Figari from contacting any Sodalits, is to order that Figari not return to Peru, except for very serious reasons and with written permission; that he be placed in a residence where there are no Sodalits; that a member of the Sodalits be entrusted with the task of referring to Figari, for any eventuality and request; and that Figari be prohibited from granting any statement to the media or from participating in any public demonstrations or meetings of the Sodalitium Christiane Vitae.

The decree bears the signatures of the congregations’ prefect, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, and its secretary, Archbishop José Rodriguez Carballo.

Last month, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae announced that 66 persons can be considered victims of abuse of mistreatment by members of the community, and that it has set aside more than $2.8 million in reparations and assistance for victims.

In May 2016 Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark was appointed as the Vatican’s delegate to oversee ongoing reform of the society.

The month prior, an ethics commission created to investigate and offer proposals surrounding accusations of abuse against Figari had released a report which detailed an internal culture of extreme “discipline and obedience to the founder” which was “forged on the basis of extreme physical demands, as well as physical punishments, constituting abuses which violated the fundamental rights of persons.”

The commission charged that Figari’s arbitrary use of authority led to “an organizational culture based on the cult of personality.” Those who discerned out of the community were hindered from doing so, and were treated as if they were “treasonous,” the report suggested: “In many cases, this has led to grave psychological effects and even the rejection of the Catholic faith, even after being incorporated into life outside the community, obliging them to suffer unmerited spiritual conflicts.”

In addition to Peru, the Sodalitium Christiane Vitae operates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the U.S. and Italy.


Oscars 2017 Musical Performers Announced

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Oscar nominees Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sting and Justin Timberlake, and 2014 Oscar winner John Legend, will perform at the 89th annual Academy Awards, Variety reveals.

Miranda will be joined by Auli’i Cravalho to perform the nominated “Moana” track “How Far I’ll Go.”

Sting will perform “The Empty Chair” from “Jim: The James Foley Story.” The song was co-written with three-time nominee J. Ralph.

Timberlake will perform “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from “Trolls.” He shares music and lyric credits with Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster.

Finally, Legend will perform both nominated tunes from “La La Land”: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars.” The two songs were performed by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, respectively, in the film.

Legend’s own “La La Land” track, “Start a Fire,” was not nominated. He previously won for the song “Glory” from “Selma.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome these world-class artists to the Oscars,” show producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd said in a joint statement. “These performances will not only celebrate the five extraordinary nominated original songs, but also the integral part music plays in movies.”

No Evidence For Link Between Immigration And Increased Crime

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Political discussions about immigrants often include the claim that there is a relationship between immigration patterns and increased crime. However, results of a University at Buffalo-led study find no links between the two. In fact, immigration actually appears to be linked to reductions in some types of crimes, according to the findings.

“Our research shows strong and stable evidence that, on average, across U.S. metropolitan areas crime and immigration are not linked,” said Robert Adelman, an associate professor of sociology at UB and the paper’s lead author. “The results show that immigration does not increase assaults and, in fact, robberies, burglaries, larceny, and murder are lower in places where immigration levels are higher.

“The results are very clear.”

Adelman’s study with Lesley Williams Reid, University of Alabama; Gail Markle, Kennesaw State University; Charles Jaret, Georgia State University; and Saskia Weiss, an independent scholar, is published in the latest issue of the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice.

“Facts are critical in the current political environment,” said Adelman. “The empirical evidence in this study and other related research shows little support for the notion that more immigrants lead to more crime.”

Previous research, based on arrest and offense data, has shown that, overall, foreign-born individuals are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans, according to Adelman.

For the current study, the authors stepped back from the study of individual immigrants and instead explored whether larger scale immigration patterns in communities could be tied to increases in crime due to changes in cities, such as fewer economic opportunities or the claim that immigrants displace domestic workers from jobs.

The authors drew a sample of 200 metropolitan areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and used census data and uniform crime reporting data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a 40-year period from 1970 to 2010.

“This is a study across time and across place and the evidence is clear,” said Adelman. “We are not claiming that immigrants are never involved in crime. What we are explaining is that communities experiencing demographic change driven by immigration patterns do not experience significant increases in any of the kinds of crime we examined. And in many cases, crime was either stable or actually declined in communities that incorporated many immigrants.”

Adelman says the relationship between immigration and crime is complex and more research needs to be done, but this research supports other scholarly conclusions that immigrants, on the whole, have a positive effect on American social and economic life.

“It’s important to base our public policies on facts and evidence rather than ideologies and baseless claims that demonize particular segments of the U.S. population without any facts to back them up,” said Adelman.

All About Sasikala – OpEd

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A mixture of the 1950 classic “All About Eve”, “The Godfather”, and “Macbeth” minus any remorse is now being played out live in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The role of the aging Broadway star played by Bette Davis should have gone to the erstwhile movie star and more recently grand dame of Tamilian politics, Jayalalitha – only she died in December 2016 under mysterious circumstances. Instead the role of this protagonist has gone to her right-hand man of many years, Panneerselvam. Humble, reserved, civil, and quietly competent, he was Jayalalitha’s loyal and trusted colleague. Since joining the AIADMK party as one of its founding members in 1973, he has held a variety of positions including minister of public works, head of the revenue department, and even chief minister of the state on two occasions when Jayalalitha was barred from the post by the Supreme Court due to cases against her and she therefore appointed him.

The role of the fawning fan who has ambitions to usurp her idol’s place, originally played by Anne Baxter, has been more than ably assumed by Sasikala, Jayalalitha’s personal companion of more than two decades. Living in Jayalalitha’s home, the luxurious Poes Garden, Sasikala had time to learn, scheme, and build her own power base. She also brought in her family into her dealings and soon they were known as the Mannargudi Mafia (named after her hometown). She acquired substantial informal political clout and a huge personal fortune.

In 2011, Jayalalitha threw Sasikala and her family out of her home and political party for apparently scheming to depose her. There is a theory that Sasikala was trying to poison Jayalalitha (http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ne040212Coverstory.asp ) and it was then Gujarat state minister and now prime minister Narendra Modi who alerted her about Sasikala (http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/was-sasikala-giving-slow-poison-to-jayalalithaa-tehelka-report-says-so-13994.html ). Within months though, after profusely apologizing and supposedly disowning bad elements in her family (including her husband Natarajan), Sasikala was back at Poes Garden, making many wonder what hold Sasikala had over Jayalalitha.

Party members didn’t call Jayalalitha by name, but rather ‘Amma’, meaning Mother. Soon they began calling Sasikala ‘Chinna-Amma’, or Little Mother, showing not only a heightened respect but establishing a link between the two and what some party members interpret as an unspoken line of succession. However, over the many years of their association, Jayalalitha tellingly never gave Sasikala an official political post.

On December 5th, Jayalalitha died, after a supposed illness and long hospitalization during which no one – apart from Sasikala and her family – was allowed to see her. Not Jayalalitha’s own family, nor her acting chief minister Panneerselvam, nor even the state governor. Rumours abound that Jayalalitha was intentionally being given the wrong medication by Sasikala’s doctor (https://www.thequint.com/jayalalithaa/2016/12/15/jayalalithaa-was-given-wrong-medicine-at-apollo-says-leaked-email-barkha-dutt-ndtv-o-panneerselvam-amma-tamil-nadu ) while at home and finally pushed down the stairs (http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/jayalalithaa-s-death-unnatural-poisoned-pushed-stairs-alleges-aiadmk-leader-pandian-56894 ) before being brought to Chennai’s Apollo Hospital.

After Jayalalitha’s death, things moved rapidly. Panneerselvam was made chief minister of Tamil Nadu and Modi promised him his support. Within days, Sasikala’s brother approached Panneerselvam and insisted that he make Sasikala the general secretary of the party in reward for her many years of service to ‘Amma’. Since this idea had the support of many MLAs, Panneerselvam agreed.

A few weeks later, Sasikala called Panneerselvam to her home (i.e., to Poes Garden, Jayalalitha’s home which Sasikala and her family now fully occupy). He arrived to find all the party MLAs gathered and demanding that he resign and offer his post of chief minister to Sasikala. In all this, the party MLAs’ unquestioning following of Sasikala is inexplicable, unless a Godfather-like mode of persuasion –  “either your brains or your signature will be on the contract” – has drawn them amorally to her side.

Last Sunday, Panneerselvam submitted a terse letter of resignation to the state governor, saying he was resigning for ‘personal reasons’. Then Tuesday, deeply disturbed, he came to Jayalalitha’s gravesite at about 9pm, sat down, and meditated for some forty minutes. In the meantime, hearing of his presence there, the public and press gathered. When he stood up, he spoke to the crowd and revealed that he had been forced to resign by Sasikala and her supporters. Undeterred and in retaliation, Wednesday Sasikala denounced Panneerselvam as a traitor and is pressing ahead to ensure she is sworn in quickly as chief minister. Thursday, she barricaded her MLAs at various luxury hotels to prevent them from communicating with outsiders or defecting to Panneerselvam. In spite of that, at last count some six had escaped her clutches and were seen by Panneerselvam’s side.

Unlike the movie “All About Eve”, where only two people’s careers were at stake, here the welfare of an entire state and its 77 million people is in the balance.

Over the years, Sasikala and her Mannargudi Mafia have been rumoured to be involved in many instances of coercion and extortion – such as forcing owners of attractive properties to sell for a fraction of the market value, taking expensive jewelry without paying, and demanding bribes on government contracts – not to mention the possible murder of Jayalalitha, the prior chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu. Thus far, she has managed to escape all charges because of the police and judges she carries in her pocket – as Sollozzo said – “like so many nickels and dimes”. Sasikala is said to have ownership in over 30 companies and her personal wealth is estimated to be in the millions. And she managed all this before she had any formal position of power. Now as general secretary of the political party in office and perhaps soon the chief minister of the state as well, her influence becomes frighteningly large, uncontrollable, and likely destructive. While this may be the happy ending Sasikala has hoped for, it will be a tragedy for democracy and Tamil Nadu.

 

*Ranjani Iyer Mohanty is a writer, editor, and commentator.  She has contributed to several publications, including the International Herald Tribune, the New York Times, the WSJ, the Financial Times, the Globe & Mail, and the Atlantic. She divides her time between Canada and India.

Uncovered Long-Term Effects Of Traumatic Brain Injury

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Doctors are beginning to get answers to the question that every parent whose child has had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) wants to know: What will my child be like 10 years from now?

In a study to be presented Friday Feb. 10 at the annual meeting of the Association of Academic Physiatrists in Las Vegas, researchers from Cincinnati Children’s will present research on long-term effects of TBI — an average of seven years after injury. Patients with mild to moderate brain injuries are two times more likely to have developed attention problems, and those with severe injuries are five times more likely to develop secondary ADHD. These researchers are also finding that the family environment influences the development of these attention problems.

  • Parenting and the home environment exert a powerful influence on recovery. Children with severe TBI in optimal environments may show few effects of their injuries while children with milder injuries from disadvantaged or chaotic homes often demonstrate persistent problems.
  • Early family response may be particularly important for long-term outcomes suggesting that working to promote effective parenting may be an important early intervention.
  • Certain skills that can affect social functioning, such as speed of information processing, inhibition, and reasoning, show greater long-term effects.
  • Many children do very well long-term after brain injury and most do not have across the board deficits.

More than 630,000 children and teenagers in the United States are treated in emergency rooms for TBI each year. But predictors of recovery following TBI, particularly the roles of genes and environment, are unclear. These environmental factors include family functioning, parenting practices, home environment, and socioeconomic status. Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s are working to identify genes important to recovery after TBI and understand how these genes may interact with environmental factors to influence recovery.

  • They will be collecting salivary DNA samples from more than 330 children participating in the Approaches and Decisions in Acute Pediatric TBI Trial.
  • he primary outcome will be global functioning at 3, 6, and 12 months post injury, and secondary outcomes will include a comprehensive assessment of cognitive and behavioral functioning at 12 months post injury.
  • This project will provide information to inform individualized prognosis and treatment plans.

Using neuroimaging and other technologies, scientists are also learning more about brain structure and connectivity related to persistent symptoms after TBI. In a not-yet-published Cincinnati Children’s study, for example, researchers investigated the structural connectivity of brain networks following aerobic training. The recovery of structural connectivity they discovered suggests that aerobic training may lead to improvement in symptoms.

Over the past two decades, investigators at Cincinnati Children’s have conducted a series of studies to develop and test interventions to improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes following pediatric brain injury. They developed an innovative web-based program that provides family-centered training in problem-solving, communication, and self-regulation.

  • Across a series of randomized trials, online family problem-solving treatment has been shown to reduce behavior problems and executive dysfunction (management of cognitive processes) in older children with TBI, and over the longer-term improved everyday functioning in 12-17 year olds.
  • Web-based parenting skills programs targeting younger children have resulted in improved parent-child interactions and reduced behavior problems. In a computerized pilot trial of attention and memory, children had improvements in sustained attention and parent-reported executive function behaviors. These intervention studies suggest several avenues for working to improve short- and long-term recovery following TBI.

Hubble Sees Spiral In Andromeda

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The Andromeda constellation is one of the 88 modern constellations and should not be confused with our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy. The Andromeda constellation is home to the pictured galaxy known as NGC 7640.

Many different classifications are used to identify galaxies by shape and structure — NGC 7640 is a barred spiral type. These are recognizable by their spiral arms, which fan out not from a circular core, but from an elongated bar cutting through the galaxy’s center. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is also a barred spiral galaxy. NGC 7640 might not look much like a spiral in this image, but this is due to the orientation of the galaxy with respect to Earth — or to Hubble, which acted as photographer in this case. We often do not see galaxies face on, which can make features such as spiral arms less obvious.

There is evidence that NGC 7640 has experienced some kind of interaction in its past. Galaxies contain vast amounts of mass, and therefore affect one another via gravity. Sometimes these interactions can be mild, and sometimes hugely dramatic, with two or more colliding and merging into a new, bigger galaxy. Understanding the history of a galaxy, and what interactions it has experienced, helps astronomers to improve their understanding of how galaxies — and the stars within them — form.

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