Geopolitical News from the modern world

Author

Press Release - page 4

Press Release has 41 articles published.

Pakistan: National Security Committee condemns India

in ASIA by

The 20th Meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) was held in Islamabad on Wednesday with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the chair. Pakistan’s top civilian and military leaders strongly condemned India’s “recent reign of terror” in occupied Kashmir which has martyred 20 innocent civilians and left hundreds wounded. According to a press release, the committee condemned the current situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, observing that the inhumane and incessant use of pellet guns against innocent protestors and on funeral processions has blinded scores of Kashmiris and inflicted injuries. “The National Security Committee praised the extraordinary courage and resilience of Kashmiri people in the face of Indian brutalities, gross and systematic violations of all their human rights. The Committee observed that the purely indigenous character of this uprising has once again belied the false propaganda by the Indian government,” said the press release. The NSC reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to political, diplomatic and moral support for the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in their just and legitimate struggle for their right to self-determination, also promised to them by the unanimous resolutions of the UN Security Council. The National Security Committee decided to raise the issue of unprecedented Indian brutalities at both bilateral and multilateral fora. The committee reviewed the broader regional situation and expressed satisfaction over the role that Pakistan continues to play for peace and stability. 

You might be interested in

CAR: attack in Bangui

BANGUI – The security situation was very confused in the night between Sunday 8 and Monday 9 April. Around 11:15

North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center: Major Activity at the Five Megawatt Reactor

in FAR EAST by

According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery from March 30 indicates that North Korea may have shut down the 5 MWe (plutonium production) reactor, since it was last observed in late February, given the lack of clearly visible steam plumes at the Generator Hall. At the Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR), work continues on an adjacent building that may be a laboratory or for engineering support, but there are no obvious signs that the reactor is approaching operational status, in fact there was no evidence of plutonium reprocessing taking place at the Radiochemical Laboratory. 

Presently, imagery indicates only routine vehicle movements and no activities associated with preparations for, or an ongoing, reprocessing campaign at the Radiochemical Laboratory. 

You might be interested in

Zamfara Carnage: NEMA confirms 54 dead, 7000 displaced

in AFRICA by

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Wednesday confirmed that 54 persons were killed by suspected cattle rustlers in Bawar Daji District, Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara state last week Wednesday. 71 persons injured with over 7000 displaced persons. NEMA said the attacks affected places like Baudi, Tungan Turkish, Doka, Zanoka, Akuzo and Dogon Ruwa. Zamfara State Governor, Abdul’Aziz Yari Abubakar, alongside security chiefs and members of the State Executive Council on Friday visited Emir of Anka over the killings. Governor Yari during the condolence visit to the Emir directed the security agencies to shoot anybody found with arms “in the bush”. The governor said the laws of the country allow only security personnel to carry arms. “It is criminal for any person who is not a security personnel to carry arms, therefore I have ordered the security agencies in the state to shoot at sight any person who carries AK 47 or any other weapons in the bush, be Fulani, Hausa or any tribe. 

The bandits attacked the area after some members of the community held a meeting to discuss measures to be taken against banditry during the 2018 farming season. The bandits had earlier threatened that there would be no farming activities in the area in this year’s rainy season. 

You might be interested in

CAR: attack in Bangui

BANGUI – The security situation was very confused in the night between Sunday 8 and Monday 9 April. Around 11:15

Montenegro: security operations praised by National Security Council

in DEFENCE/EUROPE by

The National Security Council, chaired by President Duško Marković, welcomed the prompt and effective detection and arrest of perpetrators of serious crimes committed this past week. Marković reiterated the commitment of the institutions to continue their efforts to fight organized criminal groups, and especially their content providers. Indeed, the newly-formed specialized teams made up of representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Police Directorate and other bodies have a clear task, namely to be a step ahead of any criminal intent. Prime Minister Duško Marković affirmed that the current period to be overcome does not require just the work of institutions in accordance with their regular legal obligations. Indeed, he claimed also that, at the moment of state budgeting, everyone must give additional and stronger contribution in order to protect every citizen and family in Montenegro. 

You might be interested in

CAR: attack in Bangui

BANGUI – The security situation was very confused in the night between Sunday 8 and Monday 9 April. Around 11:15

Erdogan, Putin Turkey’s first nuclear plant

in ENERGY/turkey by

During a ceremony in the capital Ankara on April 3, Turkey and Russia launched construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in the province of Mersin. Erdoğan said that the Akkuyu plant will become the 56th nuclear plant under construction in the world and the first reactor of the Akkuyu plant will put into operation in 2023. Erdogan added that the relationship with Russia is very important, referring to an agreement for Ankara to purchase long-range S-400 missile defense systems from Russia and the Turkstream natural gas pipeline project to transport Russian gas. Putin said that they are founding Turkey’s nuclear sector and they aim to produce the first energy unit in 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. He added that the nuclear plant will supply 10 percent of Turkey’s electricity demand. The plant will have a capacity of 4,800 megawatts in four units and a working life of 8,000 hours per year. In the first phase of the construction, two units with a capacity of 2,400 megawatts are planned. 

Turkey’s TAEK atomic energy authority on April 2 granted Russian builder Rosatom a construction license to start work on the first unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, Turkey’s approval for Gazprom’s onshore portion of the TurkStream gas pipeline’s second line is still pending, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on April 3. All permissions for the offshore part have been received and it is under construction, he added. Akkuyu nuclear plant will be built by Russia’s Rosatom on the Mediterranean coast for a price tag of $20 billion. Rosatom holds a majority share in the plant with 51 percent, while 49 percent was originally planned to be divided between a Turkish consortium of three contracting conglomerates under the name Cengiz-Kolin-Kalyon (CKK), but Kolin and Kalyon decided to pull out of the project because of an inability to agree on commercial terms. Rosatom has said it is talking to Turkish state electricity producer EÜAŞ as a new shareholder in the project. 

You might be interested in

‘Cebu City mayor not on Duterte’s narco list’

in PHILIPPINES by

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is not on President Duterte’s list of politicians allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, (PDEA) director general Aaron Aquino said yesterday. Aquino said PDEA has not received any report confirming Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre’s statement that Osmeña is in the payroll of drug lords. Aquino said 87 politicians, including mayors and vice mayors, are on the President’s drug watchlist. Aquino said PDEA would tap other agencies in validating Aguirre’s statement. Aguirre’s revelations against Osmeña came after the mayor threatened to file graft and disbarment cases against the justice chief over his supposed interference in the tax evasion charges filed by the Cebu City government against executives of SM Prime Holdings and BDO Unibank Inc. 

You might be interested in

9 major infra projects up for NEDA Board approval

in PHILIPPINES by

Nine big-ticket infrastructure projects, including San Miguel Corp.’s proposed PHP700-billion airport project in Bulacan, are up for approval by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board (chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte), the state planning agency said Tuesday. Tungpalan said other projects up for approval include the Subic-Clark Railway, bridges across Pasig River and the proposed Davao agro-industrial complex project of the National Development Company. He noted these nine projects are “moving up to NEDA Board either by ad referendum or a NEDA Board meeting, it will be held soonest.” Meanwhile, diversified conglomerate SMC offered to build a new airport in north of Metro Manila with at least four runways and covering 2,000 hectares in Bulacan. “They will start with the negotiations with the original proponent and if they agree, then there will be a Swiss challenge. Then, they will see how the Swiss challenger will make their bid,” said Tungpalan. Aside from the project’s reasonable rate of return, the NEDA official said there are minimum performance standards and specifications and key performance indicators that will go with the Swiss challenge. 

You might be interested in

China hopes US, North Korea meeting advances smoothly, Foreign Minister Wang Yi says

in FAR EAST by

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in Beijing today and told him that China appreciates the North’s “important efforts” toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Wang also said Beijing hopes that a planned meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the United States advances smoothly and that the reasonable security concerns of all sides regarding the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula should be taken into account. 

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho is set to visit Russia, where Ri is expected to talk to senior Russian government officials about the situation on the Korean peninsula, Azerbaijan, where he is likely to attend a ministerial-level meeting of the Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baku, and other former Soviet republics in the coming days. North Korea in fact has intensified diplomatic efforts ahead of its planned summit with South Korea on April 27 and first-ever high-level talks with the United States possibly by the end of next month. 

You might be interested in

Experts urge overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture

in AFRICA/DEFENCE by

LAGOS – Experts have called for a review of the nation’s security architecture to address the killings and other criminal activities in the land. 

During the inauguration of council members and induction of new members of the Institute of Criminal Justice and Criminology Administration (ICJCA) in Lagos, the chief executive/registrar, Dr. Primus Emenuga, said the appeal has become necessary following the series of negative reports which were capable of undermining national security. He said: “As at this moment, our security architecture is nothing to write home about. If you look at our core competencies, like the justice system, law enforcement and prison, they are not performing optimally […] We are asking the government to look at the security issues from the top to the bottom, especially at the correction level to change the narrative.” 

To the president and chairman of council, Oba Gbadebo Bajowa, there was need to improve the nation’s justice system by developing and providing good but strategic security administrators and defence initiatives in both government and private organisations. The emphasis, he said, should be on the provision of a broad programme that equips members of the criminal justice system with necessary knowledge, skills, attitude and aptitude in criminal justice administration and criminology in tandem with current realities. 

You might be interested in

CAR: attack in Bangui

BANGUI – The security situation was very confused in the night between Sunday 8 and Monday 9 April. Around 11:15

Milo Đukanović: The EU should not repeat its mistakes

in EUROPE by

President of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Milo Đukanović, at the opening of the Conference “Meeting the EU-Western Balkans Summit” organized by DPS along with the European Socialists Party (PES), claimed that the centuries-old interweaving of the great global powers in the Balkans threatens to endanger the countries in the region. Indeed, according to Đukanović, more EU in the Balkans means a faster level of integration and the EU needs to make stronger efforts to tackle problems beyond its borders. On this premises, President of the PES Sergei Stanishev claimed that it was wrong of President of the European Commission (EC) Jean-Claude Juncker, at the beginning of his term, to affirm that there would be no EU enlargement during his mandate. Indeed, according to Stanishev, without the Balkans, the enlargement process would not be complete. EU accession is not only a formal process, continued Stanishev, it is already a difficult process that requires mutual efforts and concrete solutions. 

You might be interested in

1 2 3 4 5
Press Release
0 £0.00
Go to Top
× How can I help you?