Putin expels 755 American diplomats

MOSCOW, July 30: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said that 755 US diplomats must leave his country, after Moscow announced it would expel American staff in retaliation for tough new sanctions from Washington.

The Russian foreign ministry had earlier demanded that the US cut its diplomatic presence in Russia by September to 455 -- the same number Moscow has in the US.

"More than a thousand people were working and are still working" at the US embassy and consulates, Putin said in an interview with Rossia-24 television. "755 people must stop their activities in Russia."

Putin added that an upturn in Russia's relations with Washington could not be expected "any time soon".

"We have waited long enough, hoping that the situation would perhaps change for the better," he said.

"But it seems that even if the situation is changing, it's not for any time soon."

On Thursday, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to toughen sanctions on Russia for allegedly meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Iran and North Korea are also targeted in the sanctions bill.

The law now goes to President Donald Trump who had made an improvement in ties with Russia a plank of his election campaign.

Moscow on Friday ordered the US to slash its number of diplomats in Russia to 455 and froze two embassy compounds - a Moscow summer house and a storage facility in the city - from August 1.

In December, the then US president Barack Obama ordered out 35 Russian diplomats and closed down two embassy summer houses that Washington said were being used by Moscow for espionage.

Pakistan to elect new prime minister on Tuesday

ISLAMABAD, July 30: Pakistan’s Parliament will meet on Tuesday to elect a new prime minister after the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif.

The confirmation from Parliament came after President Mamnoon Hussain convened a special session following Sharif’s decision to put forward his ally and longtime loyalist Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as interim leader and named his brother Shahbaz, 65, as long-term successor.

The opposition is expected to name a candidate to challenge Abbasi in a vote in Parliament, but Sharif’s PML-N holds a majority with 188 seats in the 342-member Parliament, and the former petroleum and natural resources minister is expected to win, barring any defections from party ranks.

Sharif said the plan is for Abbasi to stay in power until Shahbaz, who is the chief minister of the vast Punjab province, wins a by-election to the national assembly and becomes eligible to be prime minister.

A quick handover could ease political upheaval sparked by the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to disqualify Sharif for not declaring a source of income.

The court also ordered a criminal investigation into him and his family.

Abbasi on Sunday vowed to continue Sharif’s work.

“I hope that God will help me in furthering Nawaz Sharif’s policies,” Abbasi told reporters in Islamabad, adding to speculation that Sharif will continue to run the show behind the scenes.

The turmoil and the premature end to Sharif’s third stint in power has also raised questions about Pakistan’s democracy as no prime minister has completed a full term in power since 1947.

Meanwhile, Nawaz his wife Kulsum Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and his son-in-law Captain Safdar vacated the Prime Minister’s House on Sunday and departed for Murree. Former finance minister Ishaq Dar met the PM House’s staff before he too left for Murree.

Chinese daily accuses US of trying to escalate Sikkim standoff

BEIJING, July 26: A Chinese daily today accused the US and other countries of trying to escalate the Sino-India standoff to replicate the "South China Sea trick" and seek strategic benefits.

"More than five weeks into the border standoff between China and India, some countries other than the two directly involved are trying to step in," an op-ed article in the state-run Global Times said, directly mentioning the US and Australia.

The article titled 'Instigating Sino-India confrontation won't benefit US' referred to commentaries in the US media calling on Washington to provide to support India to "deter and counter" China and rally the world against Beijing.

It also took exception to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's call for resolving the Doklam issue peacefully, saying "Bishop intends to blur the nature of the face-off and shows disguised support for India."

The article said "so far, the Donald Trump administration has paid little attention to the US-India ties, and their divergences over issues like trade and immigration remain".

"The Americans may think they can copy their South China Sea trick. But what did the US get from the maritime disputes? Likewise, Washington won't get any benefits from the escalation of the Sino-India confrontation. China won't give up safeguarding its territory because of US interference," it said.

26 Afghan soldiers killed in Taliban attack on Kandahar base

KANDAHAR, July 26: At least 26 Afghan soldiers have been killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in Kandahar province, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, the latest blow to struggling security forces.

The militants "attacked an army camp in Karzali area of Khakrez district of Kandahar last night," MoD spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said.

Afghan soldiers "bravely resisted", he said, killing more than 80 insurgents.

Residents in the area described an hours-long attack launched by a 30-strong convoy carrying "hundreds" of Taliban who assaulted the base from multiple directions.

Air support was called in, several residents said, though that was not immediately confirmed by officials. The insurgents claimed the attack via their Twitter account.

The resurgent Taliban have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country throughout the warmer weather fighting season.

Afghan security forces, beset by killings, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Gopal Baglay appointed Joint Secretary in PMO

NEW DELHI, July 21: The government on Friday appointed senior diplomat Gopal Baglay, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (EAM), as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Baglay, a 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, will replace Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to Paris.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared Baglay’s appointment for a crucial position in the PMO. The ACC also empanelled Baglay to hold the Joint Secretary level position in the Central government.

According to the ACC order, Baglay and Kwatra would work together for two weeks in the PMO for a smooth transition.

An official of the Indian Foreign Service, Baglay has served as deputy high commissioner to Islamabad from 2011 to 2014 and was tasked to work in the ministry's division dealing with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran after his return. He also led the special division in the foreign ministry started by the NDA government to to facilitate international outreach of India's states.

Masood Azhar will be listed as terrorist under relevant UN sanction rules: MEA

NEW DELHI, July 20: The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that the United States (US) and other countries have requested to list Maulana Masood Azhar as a terrorist under relevant United Nation (UN) sanctions committee.

“US has made a request along with other countries for Maulana Masood Azhar to be listed under the relevant UN sanctions committee because terrorism are being emanating from this particular source like we saw in the case of Syed Salahuddin. It’s a global concern. It contributes the global menace of terrorism very largely and substantially,” MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay told media on Thursday.

Masood Azhar is the founder and leader of the UN-designated terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which active mainly in the Pakistani administered Azad Kashmir.

Pakistani authorities took him into ‘protective custody’ after last year terror attack in Pathankot, Punjab which was widely reported as an “arrest”. However, he was seen free in April 2016.

India has listed Masood Azhar as one of its most wanted terrorists due to his history of militant activities.

Modi targets Pakistan at G20 summit, equates LeT, JeM terror groups to Islamic State and al-Qaeda

HAMBURG, July 7: Naming Pakistan-based terror groups LeT and JeM, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said some countries were using terror as a tool to achieve political objectives and pressed for “deterrent” action collectively by the G-20 members against such nations.

Addressing the G20 summit in Hamburg, he equated Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohamamd to Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, saying their names might be different but their ideology was the same.

With leaders like US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping listening, Modi regretted that the international response to terrorism was weak and said more cooperation was needed to fight the menace.

The Indian prime minister presented an 11-point Action Agenda which included suggestions for exchange of lists of terrorists among G20 nations, easing and expediting of legal processes like extradition and concrete steps to choke funds and weapon supply to the terrorists.

“Some nations are using terrorism for achieving political goals,” Modi said in a clear reference to Pakistan.

He named LeT and JeM as terror operatives in the South Asia like Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda in the Middle East and Boko Haram in Nigeria. “Their only ideology is to spread hatred and commit massacres,” he added.

Modi said the nations are less networked in dealing with the menace while the terrorists were better networked.

Modi, Xi chat at G20 amid border row

HAMBURG, July 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping discussed a “range of issues” during an informal gathering of BRICS leaders on the margins of the G20 Summit in Hamburg on Friday even as the Chinese leader called for the peaceful settlement of regional disputes.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted a photo of the two leaders smiling and shaking hands. He said Modi and Xi had a “conversation on a range of issues”.

The interaction, held against the backdrop of a tense standoff between Indian and Chinese forces in the Sikkim sector, came a day after China ruled out a formal bilateral meeting between the two leaders in Hamburg, with officials saying the “atmosphere is not right”.

Television reports said the discussion between Modi and Xi lasted about five minutes.

The Chinese president, who presided over the informal meeting, called on “the BRICS countries to push for peaceful settlement of regional conflicts and disputes”, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

During the meeting of the leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping, the two leaders praised the roles played by each other’s countries in the international arena.

In his address, Modi “appreciated momentum in BRICS under the chairmanship of President Xi and extended full cooperation and best wishes for the BRICS Xiamen Summit”, according to a statement from the external affairs ministry.

Concluding the meeting immediately after Modi’s remarks, Xi “appreciated India’s strong resolve against terrorism and the momentum in BRICS introduced under India’s chairmanship and through the outcomes of the Goa Summit in 2016”.

Xi also appreciated “India’s success in economic and social development and wished India even bigger success”.

Indian Ambassador to Peru Sandeep Chakravorty appointed New York Consul General

NEW DELHI, July 7: India’s Ambassador to Peru Sandeep Chakravorty has been appointed as the head of the Indian consulate in New York. The 1996 Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer will replace Riva Ganguly Das as Consul General in one of the busiest Indian diplomatic missions overseas. The formal notification was issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday.

Chakravorty (47) was India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka, before being appointed as Ambassador to Peru and Bolivia.

He also served in India’s missions in Madrid and Bogota.

In the Ministry of External Affairs of India, he served on several desks including working as Press Relations Officer and to the minister of state for external affairs.

Chakravorty also served in the Eurasia Division dealing with Central Asia and in the East Asia Division dealing with China, Japan, Koreas and Mongolia.

Protests rock Hamburg ahead of G20 summit; Merkel seeks policy consensus

HAMBURG, July 6: German police clashed with protesters before a G20 summit in Hamburg on Thursday, tarnishing the outset of a meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel hopes will cement her role as a stateswoman as she seeks re-election in September.

Merkel, who is campaigning for a fourth term, can ill afford images of chaos and disharmony. The summit, which starts in full on Friday, is a chance for her to polish her diplomatic credentials but would be disastrous if marred by violence. She met U.S. President Donald Trump for an hour on Thursday evening, but less than an hour later police clashed with anti-capitalist demonstrators near the summit venue and fired water cannon at black-clad protesters after they threw bottles.

An eyewitness saw at least one protester with blood on his face being treated. "Welcome to Hell" was the protesters' greeting for Trump and other world leaders arriving for the two-day meeting.

Merkel has taken a high-risk gamble by choosing to hold the summit in the northern port city of Hamburg, partly to show the world that big protests are tolerated in a healthy democracy. Before meeting Trump, she struck a consensual tone, holding out hope for agreement on the divisive issue of climate policy and pledging to broker compromises. She pledged to represent German and European interests at the summit, but added "On the other hand, as hosts we - and I - will do all we can to find compromises."

Trump faces a testy confrontation at the summit with leaders of the other big Group of 20 economies after deciding last month to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris climate deal. Agreement could yet be found on climate, Merkel indicated. "There are various options, which can be discussed. We know that the United States have withdrawn. All others ... or as far as I know, many many others stand by this agreement," she said.

As the leaders began holding informal meetings, thousands of protesters from around Europe, who say the G20 has failed to solve many of the issues threatening world peace, poured into Hamburg to join the main demonstration. Police expected around 100,000 protesters in the port city, some 8,000 of whom are deemed by security forces to be ready to commit violence. Up to 20,000 police officers are on hand.

As summit host, Merkel must seek consensus among the G20 leaders not only on the divisive issue of climate policy but also on trade - an area fraught with risk as Trump pursues his 'America First' agenda.

Merkel earlier said she was committed to an open international trading system, despite fears of U.S. protectionism under the Trump administration. "We're united in our will to strengthen multilateral relations at the G20 summit ... We need an open society, especially open trade flows," Merkel said in Berlin. She and Trump discussed G20 themes, North Korea, the Middle East, and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a German government spokesman said. Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan is among other leaders Merkel was to meet.

Trump, who earlier in Poland called again on NATO partners to spend more on defence and said he would confront the threat from North Korea, is also due to hold his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. Their meeting, scheduled for Friday, will be closely watched at a time when mutual ties remain strained by U.S. allegations of Russian election hacking, Syria, Ukraine and a U.S. row over Trump associates' links to Moscow.

India, Israel elevate their ties to strategic partnership

JERUSALEM, July 5: India and Israel elevated their ties to a strategic partnership as India identified Israel as a major development and technological partner after Prime Minister Narendra Modi finished official discussions with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu here.

A joint statement issued at the end of the talks said, "This historic first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel solidified the enduring friendship between their peoples and raised the bilateral relationship to that of a strategic partnership." But the discussions, according to sources went much beyond the official. Both men obviously found a personal connect — Modi invited Netanyahu and his family to India. Abandoning diplomatic niceties, Netanyahu jumped in with "I accept."

Netanyahu started by saying " This is a marriage made in heaven, but we are implementing it here on earth." In recent months, India and China have both come in for similar praise from Israel's leaders.

The important takeaways from Modi's visit so far are— apart from the historic significance of a first visit to Israel by an Indian PM, the two countries have broad based their relationship, moving beyond defence and security, which is an ongoing relationship anyway. "They visualised the two countries will become close partners in development, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, defence and security."

"It is in this context that we felt it was important to have a separately designated strategic partnership on agriculture and water," said foreign secretary S Jaishankar, briefing journalists afterwards. The joint statement said it would focus on water conservation, waste water treatment and its reuse for agriculture, desalination, water utility reforms, and cleaning of the Ganga etc. Similar cooperation in post-harvest technical knowhow and market linkages etc would be seen in the agriculture sector. Jaishankar said, this partnership would feed into India's national goal of doubling farmer incomes by 2022.

In his remarks, PM said, for the second time, "India admires the success of your people in overcoming adversity to advance, innovate and flourish against all odds." Netanyahu said he and Modi had given 6 months to their bureaucracies to draw up plans.

On terrorism, the two countries spoke the same language. Modi said, ""India has suffered first hand the violence and hatred spread by terror, so has Israel. PM Netanyahu and I have agreed to do much more together to protect our strategic interests and also cooperate to fight growing radicalization."

Defence and security is never far from the surface in the India-Israel dynamic — the joint statement reflected a new paradigm in defence relationship. The countries agreed that "future developments in this sphere should focus on joint development of defence products, including transfer of technology from Israel," encompassing not only "make in India" but a new concept of "make with India".

Cyber security will find a bigger space in the bilateral relationship as India and Israel work on combating cyber threats. The two countries signed three agreements on space cooperation that includes cooperation in the areas of "Atomic Clocks; GEO-LEO Optical Link; Academic collaboration and Electric propulsion for small satellites."

The business and economic relationship will get fresh energy when both sides sit down for the first CEOs Forum, with 16 companies on either side, where water, pharma and defence industries will find pre-eminence. A coordinating group will go into collaboration possibilities and easing of government barriers to partnership, "without falling into silos."

A one-plus-two meeting between Modi and Netanyahu this morning focused on defence and security, counter terror cooperation and global and regional security assessments, said Jaishankar. The Indian side briefed Israelis about the regulatory changes in India, as well as security challenges that India was looking at.

India and Israel will also explore cooperating in third countries particularly in Africa, said Netanyahu. There is a plan to increase the number of Indian students in Israel — already India is the source of the largest number of post-doc students here.

Jaishankar hinted at the possibility of more civilian flights between India and Israel, which he said would increase. Air India was supposed to start flights to Israel but they appear to have run into the unfortunate fact that while Air India would be able to take a shorter route to Israel, Israeli carriers would have to take the longer route around Saudi Arabia.