Russian, Chinese hold first joint patrols in the Pacific.

Russian and Chinese warships held their first joint patrols in the western Pacific Ocean over the past week, Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday 23 October 2021, a move Japan said it was monitoring.

Moscow and Beijing, which staged naval cooperation drills in the Sea of Japan earlier in October, have cultivated closer military and diplomatic ties in recent years at a time when their relations with the West have soured.

The naval manoeuvres, which Russia said ran from Sunday through Saturday, have been closely watched by Japan, which said earlier in the week that a group of 10 vessels from China and Russia sailed through the Tsugaru Strait separating Japan's main island and its northern island of Hokkaido.

Source: www.reuters.com

Read More

New Zealand swears in first indigenous woman as Governor-general.

New Zealand's first indigenous Māori woman to be named Governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, was formally sworn into the largely ceremonial role in parliament in Wellington on Thursday 21 October 2021, pledging to reach out to migrants and marginalised citizens.

Speaking to a small audience at the swearing-in ceremony, Dame Cindy said she was proud of her dual Maori and British heritage. The Governor-general carries out constitutional and ceremonial duties in the former British colony on behalf of the British monarch, who remains the country's official head of state.

Many Maori, who account for about 17% of New Zealand's population, are still disadvantaged socially and economically.

Source: www.reuters.com

Read More

Introduction of On-line Falsehood Bill will be introduced soon.

On-line Falsehood and Manipulation Bill to control publishing of false information on social media will be introduced soon, Minister of Justice Ali Sabri told Parliament.

The Minister said preparing a Cabinet paper to this effect was reaching its final stages.

The Minister also said that a balanced Prevention of Terrorism Act will be introduced in order to ensure country’s security without suppressing the rights of the people.

Source: www.dailymirror.lk

Read More

World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2021.

Sri Lanka has ranked 76 out of 139 countries and jurisdictions in the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021. 

The WJP Rule of Law Index 2021 ranks the countries based on scores ranging from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating the strongest adherence to the rule of law. 

Denmark, Norway and Finland topped the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021.

Here is the list of Countries according to their key rankings:

Rank                  Country

• 1                 Denmark
• 2                Norway
• 3                 Finland
• 76                    Sri Lanka
• 137                 Congo, Dem. Rep.
• 138                 Cambodia
• 139                 Venezuela, RB

Source: worldjusticeproject.org

Read More

Senior al-Qaeda leader killed in U.S. military drone strike in Syria.

The US military has killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar in a drone strike in Syria, a US Central Command spokesman said.

The removal of this al-Qaeda senior leader was conducted using an MQ-9 aircraft. The strike comes two days after a US outpost in southern Syria was attacked.

The ongoing war in Syria has created a complex battlefield involving foreign armies, militias and other armed groups linked to al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and other affiliated groups.

Read Full News

Read More

Barbados elects first-ever president, replacing British monarchy.

Barbados has elected its first-ever president as it prepares to become a republic, removing Queen Elizabeth as head of state. Dame Sandra Mason, 72, is set to be sworn in on 30 November, which will mark the country’s 55th anniversary of independence from Britain. The first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals, Dame Sandra has been governor-general since 2018. The historic election came after a joint session of the House of Assembly and the Senate.  described the vote as a “seminal moment” for the nation.

With a population of about 285,000, Barbados is one of the more populous and prosperous Caribbean islands. Once heavily dependent on sugar exports, its economy has diversified into tourism and finance.

Barbados will not be the first former British colony in the Caribbean to become a republic. Guyana took that step in 1970, less than four years after gaining independence from Britain. Trinidad and Tobago followed suit in 1976 and Dominica in 1978.

Source: www.bbc.com

Read More

Russia and China hold joint naval drills.

Russia and China held joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Friday (15th) and practised how to operate together and destroy floating enemy mines with artillery fire, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

The war games are part of naval cooperation drills between the two countries which run from Oct. 14-17 and involve warships and support vessels from Russia's Pacific Fleet, including mine-sweepers and a submarine.

Moscow and Beijing have cultivated closer military and diplomatic ties in recent years at a time when their relations with the West have soured.

Two Chinese destroyers, a submarine and two corvettes were among the vessels Beijing had sent to take part in the drills, the Russian defence ministry said, saying they had dropped anchor in the Russian far east the previous day.

The combined force would practice shooting at targets designed to imitate enemy surface ships and hold air-defence drills involving Russian SU-30SM multi-functional fighter jets and helicopters, the ministry said.

Source: www.reuters.com

Read More

North Korea fires suspected submarine-launched missile.

North Korea has fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile into waters off the coast of Japan, South Korea's military has said.

Pyongyang unveiled the missile in January, describing it as "the world's most powerful weapon".

It comes weeks after South Korea unveiled a similar weapon of its own.

North Korea has carried out a flurry of missile tests in recent weeks, including of what it said were hypersonic and long-range weapons.

Some of these tests violate strict international sanctions.

The country is specifically prohibited by the United Nations from testing ballistic missiles as well as nuclear weapons.

The UN considers ballistic missiles to be more threatening than cruise missiles because they can carry more powerful payloads, have a longer range and can fly faster.

Read Full News

Read More

UK plans to create persistent military presence in Indo-Pacific region.

The UK has planned to maintain a ‘persistent’ security presence in the Indo-pacific region, UK Chief of the Defence Staff General Nicholas Carter informed.

Carter also explained that the visit of the warships would be an intermittent one.

Carter noted the United Kingdom had a long-term association with many countries in the region going back to the days of the British Empire. He said London continued to operate an advanced jungle warfare school in Brunei on the island of Borneo, Sputnik reported.

In other recent developments, India and UK held their inaugural maritime dialogue and discussed cooperation in the maritime domain, Indo-Pacific, regional and multilateral cooperation.

An MEA release stated that the consultations, which were led by Foreign Ministries of both countries, involved exchanges on cooperation in the maritime domain, Indo-Pacific and regional/ multilateral cooperation.

The maritime dialogue was held in a virtual format as agreed in the India-UK Roadmap 2030 for future relations adopted at the virtual summit between the two Prime Ministers in May 2021, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Source: www.zee5.com

Read More

Egypt, Sudan hold joint military drills.

Egypt and Sudan started on Wednesday (20th) the joint military drill dubbed 'Guardians of the South,' to the west of northern Alexandria, a military communique announced.

The exercise is held at Mohamed Naguib military base, considered the largest of its kind in the Middle East.

The text states that the war games will continue until October 29 with the participation of border guards from both countries.

The document recalls that the armed forces of Cairo and Khartoum held several joint drills in recent months, among them 'Desert Eagles' and 'Guardians of the Nile.'

Source: www.plenglish.com

Read More

Security Council Extends Mandate of United Nations Office in Haiti.

The Security Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) to 15 July 2022 and request the Secretary-General to assess its mandate, including whether and how it could be adjusted to address Haiti’s ongoing challenges.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2600 (2021), presented by Mexico and the United States (to be issued as document S/RES/2600(2021)), the 15-member organ requested that the review to be completed and sent to the Council within the next six months and examine ways to make the Office more effective and how it can support engagement between Haitian national authorities, civil society and other stakeholders, strengthen the rule of law and promote respect for human rights.

BINUH is a special political mission established by the security council in 2019.

Source: www.un.org

Read More

Sri Lankan Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sri Lankan Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parinirvana Stupa on Wednesday (20th) after the inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport in the city.

Following the inauguration ceremony, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Minister gifted a Sinhala version of the Bhagavad Gita to PM Modi, which also carried a message from Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Speaking at an event organised to mark Abhidhamma Day, Mr Rajapaksa thanked Prime Minister Modi for extending a grant of USD 15 million to Sri Lanka to strengthen the Buddhist ties between the two nations.

Read Full News

Read More

EU launches first green bond in October 2021.

The European Union sold its first ever green bond to record demand, taking its first step to potentially become the biggest issuer of environmentally-friendly debt with a record-sized deal.

The 15-year green bond raised 12 billion euros ($13.9 billion) and received more than 135 billion euros of demand, the European Commission said, making it the largest green bond launch and the highest level of demand for a green bond sale to date.

The bond, which will finance member states' environmentally beneficial projects as part of the bloc's COVID-19 recovery fund, is the first step for the EU - which aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050 - towards becoming a leading force in the fast-growing green debt market.

Thirty percent of the EU's up-to 800 billion euro COVID-19 recovery scheme, which gives grants and loans to member states until end-2026, will fund environmentally beneficial projects.

Up to 250 billion euros of green bond issuance to back that could transform the EU into the world's biggest green bond issuer.

Source: www.reuters.com

Read More

U.S. Wins Seat on UN Human Rights Council in Uncontested Election.

The United States won a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council that former president Donald Trump denounced and quit, joining 17 other nations elected in uncontested votes Thursday that were criticized for guaranteeing spots to countries with abysmal rights records.

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly elected all 18 candidates proposed by the world organization’s five regional groups. Benin was the top vote-getter with 189 votes, followed by Gambia with 186, while the United States with 168 and Eritrea with 144 were at the bottom of the list.

Source: www.bloomberg.com

Read More

Alexander Schellenberg appointed as Austria’s new Chancellor.

Alexander Schellenberg was elected as Austrian Chancellor after the resignation of Sebastian Kurz. Sebastian Kurz resigned because of his involvement in a corruption scandal. Apart from Alexander, Michael Linhardt joined in for the role of foreign minister. He was the former ambassador to France. The appointment of both persons helped in ending the crisis within the Austrian government, the Austrian People’s Party and Green Party Coalition.

Alexander Schellenberg is a graduate from the College of Europe. He was a career diplomat & became a mentor to Sebastian Kurz when he became a foreign minister. Kurz selected him as the director of strategic foreign policy planning as well as the head of the European department.

Source: www.canewsottawa.ca

Read More

Cabinet approves proposals for Cyber Security Laws.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the drafting of Defence Cyber Commands Act and a bill for imposing cyber protection laws.

The proposals were furnished by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence and Minister of Technology.

Bill for Defense Cyber Commands Act:

The Department of Government Information in a statement noted that with the development of electronic communication, terrorist groups and criminals have tended to use cyberspace and electronic communication for terrorist activities, organized crimes, and anti-social activities.

Electronic communication across cyberspace has been recognized as a crucial factor that can directly affect national security.

Therefore, it has been vital to formulate new laws today, covering all sectors for ensuring the national security across including the required provisions so that the operations performed by cyber protection units which are established at the institutional level at present by the three – armed forces, Police and other agencies, said the Department of Government Information.

Draft bill for imposing cyber protection laws:

Cyber security and preparation of an institutional structure in the connection is coming under the scope of the Ministry of Technology.

Accordingly, followed by discussions held with the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Technology and other related parties, it has been decided appropriate to formulate a respective draft bill as mentioned in (a) above including cyber protection provisions in relation to defense sector.

Source: www.dailynews.lk

Read More

A special gazette notification has been issued declaring the age limit for compulsory retirement of Government registered medical officers to 63 years.

The relevant extraordinary gazette notification was issued by the Minister of Public Service Provincial Councils and Local Government, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon.

The regulation will come into effect from 02 August. 

Source: www.newsfirst.lk

Read More

Former Iranian President Bani-Sadr dies.

Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, who became Iran's first president after the 1979 Islamic revolution before fleeing into exile in France, died on Saturday aged 88.

He died at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris following a long illness.

Bani-Sadr had emerged from obscurity to become Iran's first president in February 1980 with the help of the Islamic clergy. But after a power struggle with radical clerics he fled the following year to France, where he spent the rest of his life.

Prior to his presidency, he was the minister of Foreign Affiars in the interim government. He had co founded the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

Read Full News

Read More

‘Father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme’ Abdul Qadeer Khan dies.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, has died at 85.

The Pakistani atomic scientist, hailed as a national hero for making his country the world’s first Islamic nuclear power but regarded by the West as a dangerous renegade responsible for smuggling technology to rogue states.

Khan was lauded for bringing Pakistan up to par with archrival India in the atomic field and making its defences “impregnable”.

But he found himself in the international crosshairs when he was accused of illegally sharing nuclear technology with Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Read Full News

Read More

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterteannounces retirement from politics.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he is retiring from politics and will not stand in elections next year.

The 76-year-old leader said last month that he would run for the vice-presidency in 2022. The country's constitution only permits presidents to serve a single six-year term.

But he now says he will withdraw, as "the overwhelming sentiment of the Filipinos is that I am not qualified".

The move comes amid speculation that his daughter could run for president.

Mr Duterte, a controversial "strongman" figure, came to power in 2016 promising to reduce crime and fix the country's drug crisis.

But critics say that during his five years in power, Mr Duterte has encouraged police to carry out thousands of extrajudicial killings of suspects in what he has called his "war on drugs".

Read Full News

Read More