US insulted at UNSC with a 14-1 Vote against it on Jerusalem

It was a bad day for US today when an Egyptian sponsored move to pressure US to take back its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and shifting of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Except for the US, which ultimately vetoed the resolution, all other 14 members denounced US for its unilateral decision on status of Jerusalem despite clear UN stance on its future through a dialogue between Israel and Palestine.

However, the US representative at the UN Security Council was unmoved by the rebuke and in fact called it at an insult to the US for telling it where it should site its embassy.

Read more about it at: The Guardian
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Russian Su-30 intercepts US Reconnaissance plane

The Russian news agency TASS has reported that a Russian air force plane has intercepted a US reconnaissance plane close to its border on the Black Sea last Saturday.

As soon as the US plane was detected by Russian air defence system, a SU-30 was ordered  into air for its interception.

The Russian fighter approached the air target and identified it as a US reconnaissance plane P-8A Poseidon. 

After being identified by a Russian fighter the US reconnaissance plane changed its route and set course away from Russia’s airspace. 

Source

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Pak Envoy to US: National interest foremost in dealings with US

Pakistan’s Ambassador in United States Sherry Rehman has said that Pakistan’s participation in the forthcoming NATO summit in Chicago, to focus on Afghanistan’s future and security transition, will ensure that it is not in international isolation. Pakistan, she said, has always had a role in the region and the summit presented an opportunity to redefine it.

“This unconditional invitation to Pakistan is a very positive development. We don t want interference in Afghanistan, but want to support peaceful security transition, which can also bring stability in Pakistan", she said during an exclusive interview with a private TV channel.

Read more: Pakistan Today

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US - Pakistan near deal on reopening supply lines

Pakistan and the United States appeared on the verge of clinching an agreement to reopen ground supply lines into Afghanistan, a U.S. official said, as Islamabad confirmed its president will attend a summit of NATO leaders this weekend in Chicago.

Reopening the supply route would be a major breakthrough in ties between Washington and Islamabad. Strained relations have fuelled speculation Pakistan might be excluded from NATO talks on Afghanistan’s future.

Pakistan closed down the supply lines for the Afghan war effort following the NATO air strike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Read details: euronews

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Iranian, Venezuelan leaders rebuff US

[ via News24 ] 10 Jan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez lavished praise on each other on Monday, mocked US disapproval and joked about having an atomic bomb at their disposal.

Despite their geographical distance, the fiery anti-US ideologues have forged increasingly close ties between their fellow OPEC nations in recent years, although concrete projects have often lagged behind the rhetoric.

Read more: News24 

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Pentagon prepares for new cold war with China

[ via World War 4 Report ] 6 Jan

As already reported in major news networks before, President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey released an unclassified version of the defense strategic guidance Jan. 5 at a Pentagon press conference. The document, entitled "Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense", calls for $487 billion in proposed defense budget cuts over the next 10 years, amounting to some 8% of the Pentagon's base budget.

World War 4 Report adds: Invoking terrorism and unrest in the Middle East, the document states that "the United States will continue to take an active approach to countering these threats," but states in the next paragraph, "we will of necessity re-balance toward the Asia-Pacific region." It explicitly recognizes China as a new rival:

Over the long term, China’'s emergence as a regional power will have the potential to affect the. .... the growth of China’'s military power must be accompanied by greater clarity of its strategic intentions in order to avoid causing friction in the region. The United States will continue to make the necessary investments to ensure that we maintain regional access and the ability to operate freely in keeping with our treaty obligations and with international law.

Read more: World War 4 Report
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Iranian president expected to visit Latin America

[ via LA Times ] 4 Jan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans a four-nation tour of Latin America beginning Sunday in an apparent effort to show he is not a universal pariah despite increasing tension between Tehran and the West.

File Photo

The tour, whose complete itinerary has not been made public, is expected to begin in Venezuela and  include visits to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador.

Ahmadinejad was expected to visit Venezuela, with which Iran has signed a number of trade deals, including joint ventures to produce tractors, bicycles and housing, in September.  That visit was canceled because of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s treatment for cancer.
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Pakistan, U.S. see less cooperation in future

[ via Tehran Times ] 2 Jan

Fatigued by a series of diplomatic crises over the past year, the United States and Pakistan are redefining their troubled relationship, stepping back from the assumption that common goals and shared interests can trump mutual suspicion. 

For Pakistan that means less cooperation with Washington and willingness, and in some cases eagerness, to swear off some of the American financial aid that often made Pakistan feel too dependent, and too pushed-around. 

For the United States it means lower expectations in several areas, including the crucial question of Pakistani help in ending the war in next-door Afghanistan. 

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Iran threatens action if U.S. carrier returns

[ via Reuters ] 3 Jan

Iran will take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises returns to the Gulf, the state news agency IRNA quoted army chief Ataollah Salehi as saying on Tuesday.

"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi told IRNA.

"I advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Salehi as saying.

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India turns down Pakistan proposal to remove heavy artillery as part of 'CBM'

[ via Express Tribune ] 30 Dec

India has rejected Pakistan’s proposal to move heavy artillery and mortars away from the Line of Control (LoC), citing frequent ceasefire violations, Indian newspaper The Economic Times reported.

Instead, India has also asked Islamabad to come clear on its nuclear policy, including command and control over nuclear assets.

During the talks, Pakistan proposed to redeploy artillery and mortar 30 kilometres away from the LoC among other CBMs that included an agreement on the prevention of incidents at sea and the return of citizens who inadvertently cross the border.

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Yemen president's medical request puts U.S. in delicate position

[ via LA Times ] 27 Dec

The U.S. could help usher in a new regime in Yemen if it allows in President Ali Abdullah Saleh. But it could anger protesters who want to him to face justice.

A request by President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen to come to the U.S. for medical treatment puts the United States in a delicate position, and the White House has not yet made a formal decision about how to respond.

The administration is also mindful of history. In 1979,President Carter permitted the shah of Iran to enter the U.S. for medical attention. That decision was viewed as one of the causes of the Iranian street protests that led to the attack on the U.S. Embassy and the seizure of American hostages in Tehran.

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Talks with US, Japan not directed at China: India

[ via Hindustan Times ] 26 Dec

A week after it held the first trilateral meeting with the US and Japan, India on Monday said it was not directed against any third country and clarified that Beijing has not voiced any reservations over the exercise.

"The trilateral is not aimed at an any third country. It is aimed at leveraging opportunities for cooperation among the three countries," Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary for East Asia in the external affairs ministry, told reporters in New Delhi.

"These discussions mark the beginning of a series of consultations among our three governments, who share common values and interests across the Asia-Pacific and the globe," the Indian embassy in US said in a statement.

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Turkey accuses France of committing genocide in Algeria

[ via The Independent ] 24 Dec

In a tit for tat move, Turkey responded to French genocide allegations with a charge of its own yesterday, accusing France of committing genocide during its colonial occupation of Algeria.

Killing of countless by French forces in Algeria

On Thursday, French lawmakers passed a Bill making it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks constituted genocide.

The deepening acrimony between the two strategic allies and trading partners could have repercussions far beyond the settling of accounts over some of the bloodiest episodes of the past century.

Read more: Independent

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Turkey retaliates over French 'genocide' bill

[ via BBC News Europe ] 22 Dec

The Turkish prime minister has announced measures against France after MPs passed a bill criminalising denial of the 1915-16 Armenian "genocide".

Turkey - France relations gone sore over French Genocide Bill

Ankara is recalling its ambassador and freezing political visits as well as joint military projects, including exercises, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

The bill was passed by the French National Assembly on Thursday and is due to go before the Senate next year. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has publicly opposed it.

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France votes on punishment in new genocide law

[ via CBS News ] 22 Dec

Lawmakers vote on Thursday on a measure that would make it a crime in France to deny that a mass killings of Armenians in 1915 amounted to a genocide, a measure that could put France on a collision course with Turkey, a strategic ally and trading partner which says the conflict nearly 100 years ago should be left to historians.

France formally recognized the killings as genocide in 2001, but provided no penalty for anyone denying that. The bill sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of euro45,000 ($59,000) for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the killings by Ottoman Turks, putting such action on a par with denial of the Holocaust.

Read more at CBS News

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