Russian President Putin hosts expanded BRICS summit

 

"This is an association of states that work together based on common values, a common vision of development and, most importantly, the principle of taking into account each other's interests," -Putin

KAZAN, Russia, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Russia wants the BRICS summit to showcase the rising clout of the non-Western world, but Moscow's partners from China, India, Brazil and the Arab world are urging President Vladimir Putin to find a way to end the war in Ukraine.

The BRICS group now accounts for 45% of the world's population and 35% of its economy, based on purchasing power parity, though China accounts for over half of its economic might.

Putin, who is cast by the West as a war criminal, told reporters from BRICS nations that "BRICS does not put itself into opposition to anyone", and that the shift in the drivers of global growth was simply a fact.

"This is an association of states that work together based on common values, a common vision of development and, most importantly, the principle of taking into account each other's interests," he said

The BRICS summit takes place as global finance chiefs gather in Washington amid war in the Middle East as well as Ukraine, a flagging Chinese economy and worries that the U.S. presidential election could ignite new trade battles.

Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, was peppered with questions by BRICS reporters about the prospects for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

BRICS' share of global GDP is forecast to rise to 37% by the end of this decade while the share accounted for by the Group of Seven major Western economies will decline to about 28% from 30% this year, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.

PUTIN SAYS HE WILL NOT GIVE UP SEIZED PARTS OF UKRAINE

Putin's answer was, in short, that Moscow would not trade away the four regions of eastern Ukraine that it says are now part of Russia, even though parts of them remain outside its control, and that it wanted its long-term security interests taken into account in Europe.

Two Russian sources said that, while there was increasing talk in Moscow of a possible ceasefire agreement, there was nothing concrete yet - and that the world was awaiting the result of the Nov. 5 presidential election in the United States.

Russia, which is advancing, controls about one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea which it seized and unilaterally annexed in 2014, about 80% of the Donbas - a coal-and-steel zone comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - and over 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Putin said the West had now realised that Russia would be victorious, but that he was open to talks based on draft ceasefire agreements reached in Istanbul in April 2022.

On the eve of the BRICS summit, Putin met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for informal talks that went on until midnight at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. 

XI AND MODI ATTENDING SUMMIT, ILLNESS KEEPS LULA AWAY

Putin has praised both Sheikh Mohammed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will not attend the summit in Kazan, for their mediation efforts over Ukraine.

"I assure you that we will continue to work in this direction," Sheikh Mohammed told Putin. "We are ready to make any efforts to resolve crises and in the interests of peace, in the interests of both sides."

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend, though Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cancelled his trip following medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights after a head injury at home that caused a minor brain hemorrhage.

The acronym BRIC was coined in 2001 by then-Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill in a research paper that underlined the massive growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China this century.

Russia, India and China began to meet more formally, eventually adding Brazil, then South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has yet to formally join.

BRICS' share of global GDP is forecast to rise to 37% by the end of this decade while the share accounted for by the Group of Seven major Western economies will decline to about 28% from 30% this year, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.

Russia is seeking to convince BRICS countries to build an alternative platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions.

But divisions abound inside BRICS. China and India, the top purchasers of Russian oil, have difficult relations, while there is little love lost between Arab nations and Iran.

 _____________

Hosting BRICS Summit of World Leaders, Russia Shows West That It’s Not Isolated

By Henry Meyer, S'thembile Cele and Simone Iglesias / Bloomberg

October 22, 2024 The TIME

President Vladimir Putin will play host to Russia’s biggest gathering of world leaders since the invasion of Ukraine and use the BRICS summit to show the U.S. and its allies that he’s no pariah.

With Russian troops advancing in eastern Ukraine and evidence of growing war fatigue among some of Kyiv’s allies, the Kremlin is seizing its opportunity to cast Putin as standing up to the West in attempting to reshape the global order. The U.S. and its Group of Seven partners dismiss the argument, though it’s a message that resonates with some countries of the emerging world.

Leaders of 32 countries, as well as top officials of regional organizations and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, will attend the three-day summit starting Tuesday in Kazan, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are due to join Putin alongside leaders of the new BRICS members, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia. Putin plans bilateral meetings with many of them, as well as with guests such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his plans to attend the summit after suffering a head injury in an accident at his home. Officials said he’ll participate by video link.

Even as the grouping attracts growing interest as a political and economic counterweight to the West, tensions are simmering over its direction and influence. Members are split over efforts to reduce reliance on the dollar as a global reserve currency, and on the wisdom of continued expansion of the group.

While BRICS favors greater use of national currencies in bilateral trade, members including India reject attempts to promote China’s yuan as an alternative reserve currency.

Russia has produced a summit report outlining possible changes to cross-border payments among BRICS countries aimed at circumventing the global financial system, though it acknowledges the proposals are mainly to promote discussion. They include developing a network of commercial lenders to conduct transactions in local currencies as well as establishing direct links between central banks.

Still, other BRICS states don’t have the same incentives to escape the dollar-based system as Russia, whose economy is straining under sweeping sanctions imposed over Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

Russia wants to push for a de-dollarized payment system at the summit, which China regards as too ambitious, said Wang Yiwei, director of Renmin University’s Center for European Studies in Beijing. 

The meeting is the first since BRICS agreed to extend membership to six additional nations at last year’s summit in South Africa. But Argentina pulled out under its new President Javier Milei and Saudi Arabia has remained non-committal.

Nations ranging from Malaysia and Thailand to Nicaragua and NATO-member Turkey are eager to join BRICS, though there’s unlikely to be an agreement on enlargement at the Russia summit. 

India is against further expansion for now and supports a category of “BRICS partner countries” without voting rights because it wants to steer the group away from becoming an anti-U.S. body dominated by China and Russia, Indian officials said on condition of anonymity because the issue is sensitive.

Brazil and South Africa support India’s view, said officials in the two countries. Any bid to dilute South Africa’s influence by inviting Nigeria or Morocco into BRICS will be resisted, said the South African officials.

The UAE completely rejects any attempt to present BRICS membership as a sign that the Global South is in opposition to the West, according to a person familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified discussing internal policy. The Gulf state has very good relations with countries in the West including the U.S., according to another official.

BRICS “expansion is a clear sign that the global balance of power is shifting,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, a Hong-Kong based economist who’s a senior research fellow at the Bruegel think tank. “But the future of the grouping is uncertain, given its heavy economic dependence on China and the deteriorating sentiment toward China among its members.”

Jim O’Neill, the Goldman Sachs economist who first coined the BRIC acronym in 2001, said expansion had made the group “highly political.” He told a forum in London in November: “I am not sure what fruitful purpose it serves other than being a club that the U.S. is not a part of.”

BRICS’ clout is growing. Its nine members account for 26% of the world economy and 45% of the world’s population versus the G-7’s 44% of global gross domestic product and 10% of its inhabitants. Brazil will host next month’s G-20 summit, following India’s presidency last year and ahead of South Africa’s in 2025.

Putin stayed away from last year’s BRICS summit after South Africa warned it would have to comply with an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Ukraine issued by the International Criminal Court in March last year.

While the warrant has limited Putin’s travels, the gathering of so many foreign leaders in Russia underscores the readiness of many, particularly from Global South states, to continue meeting him in defiance of the U.S. and its allies.

The fact so many countries want to join BRICS indicates growing demand for international ties independent of the West, said Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a think tank that advises the Kremlin. 

“For now, everyone just wants to see what it can gain from this,” he said⍐.

US pressures India for quick accountability in Sikh separatist murder plot

Exclusive: US pressures India for quick accountability in Sikh separatist murder plot

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. officials have told their Indian counterparts they want a speedy result and more accountability after their investigation into Indian involvement in a foiled murder plot against a Sikh activist in the United States, according to a U.S. official.

An Indian Enquiry Committee visited Washington last week to discuss India's own investigations after the Justice Department alleged an Indian intelligence official had directed plans to assassinate dual U.S.-Canada citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, last year.

"We've communicated really clearly that the U.S. government isn't going to feel fully satisfied until we see that meaningful accountability takes place," said a U.S. official who declined to be named. "We have been emphasizing that we hope that India will move as quickly as possible through their investigative process."

The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Washington's message to Indian officials has not been previously reported.

Last week, an unsealed indictment showed that the United States had charged Vikash Yadav, described as a former officer in India's Research and Analysis Wing spy service, with directing the plot against a Sikh separatist in New York City.

The indictment alleged that beginning in May 2023, Yadav, described as an employee of the Indian government at the time, worked with others in India and abroad to direct a plot against Pannun.

The accusations have tested Washington's relations with India, which the Biden administration sees as a potential counterbalance to China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.

"India remains an incredibly important and valuable strategic partner," the U.S. official said. "We also have to have trust and an ability to work through very difficult issues like this transparently."

India has labeled Sikh separatists as "terrorists" and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan, which would be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.

Pannun, the Sikh separatist, has alleged that Yadav was a "mid-tier soldier" assigned the task of organizing the assassination by higher-level Indian officials.

India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 it would formally investigate the allegations, and it has separately continued a diplomatic dispute with Canada over the June 2023 assassination of another Sikh leader.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September his country's intelligence agency was pursuing credible allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was behind the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist.

India has denied involvement in both incidents⍐.

Security issues in Starlink’s satellite-based internet service

Security issues in Starlink’s satellite-based internet service

Starlink is set to enter Sri Lanka and India

October 22, 2024 Daily News LK

Some experts have warned countries about the security risks associated with the Starlink satellite-based internet service.

Starlink, a subsidiary of the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), based in California, US, is to set up shop in Sri Lanka and India soon. While the deal with Sri Lanka is through, with the company getting a Sri Lankan license effective from August 12, 2024, the deal with India only recently crossed a major hurdle: a decision on the way spectrum will be awarded.

It was only recently that India decided to assign spectrum (or electromagnetic frequencies) on the basis of an “administrative decision” and not an “auction.” This decision came shortly after the Starlink owner, Elon Musk, criticised the auction route proposed by Mukesh Ambani, his rival in India. Ambani owns the Indian telecom giant, Reliance Jio.

Musk had argued that it is international practice (as per the International Telecommunication Union regulations) to award the spectrum administratively rather than by auction. But Reliance Jio’s Ambani argued in favour of an auction “to ensure a level playing field.”

The Indian Telecom Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, rejected Ambani’s plea. He announced that spectrum would be allocated administratively “as per Indian laws,” and that its pricing will be “determined by the telecom watchdog.” Scindia further said that deviating from this approach to conduct an auction would set India apart from the rest of the world.

Huge Indian market

Thus, Musk won hands down, and Ambani lost a huge market. The Indian internet market is projected to show a 36% annual growth. The market is expected to reach US$ 1.9 billion by 2030. India now has 42 million wired broadband internet users and 904 million telecom users on networks like 4G and 5G. India is the world’s second-biggest telecom market after China.

However, internet penetration is still inadequate. Penetration stood at only 52.4% in 2024. There are still 25,000 villages without internet, and even within cities, many areas don’t have fibre-based fast internet connections.

Therefore, it can be argued that satellite-based internet will definitely help provide internet coverage to every part of India. But there are attendant security risks.

Security risks

Indian nationalists are worried that India’s security may be compromised, given Starlink’s close links with the American armed forces. Telecommunication is a very sensitive domain in India. India has barred Chinese telecom companies from entering this sector, fearing penetration into Indian systems.

Sensitivity to security is so great that a permit is needed even to use a satellite phone. Sometime ago, The Hindu reported that a fisherman from Kerala and a foreigner were arrested for using a satellite phone, the former out in the open sea and the latter in a remote area on land.

As per Indian social media, nationalists ask the following questions:

“Would India be able to control Starlink when India-US relations deteriorate? Would Starlink cease its services on the orders of the US Government? Would Indian regulators be able to keep an eye on the use of the Starlink system and ensure that it is not used for espionage or for tampering with vital Indian communications?”

At present, India-US relations are troubled. The US has alleged the involvement of Indian intelligence personnel in an attempt to murder a US citizen of Indian origin, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in New York last year. In India, Pannun is a banned Sikh separatist and terrorist. But in the US, he is a citizen whose rights are inviolable. The case is now in a New York court, and an Indian suspect is in custody in the US.

In addition, India has differences with the US over Ukraine, Iran, Russia, QUAD, and now Bangladesh too. Indo-US relations could deteriorate. In that case, the question that is asked is: What role could Starlink play given its links with the US military?

Technical Threats

In his paper entitled “Cyber Threat Landscape Analysis for Starlink: Assessing Risks and Mitigation Strategies in the Global Satellite Internet Infrastructure,” Karwan Mustafa Kareem of the University of Sulaimani in Iraq, says that the technical dangers from Starlink are the following: There could be Denial-of-Service (DoS); Man-in-the-Middle (MitM); Jamming; Spoofing; and Physical tampering.

Kareem emphasises the importance of encryption algorithms, authentication protocols, and intrusion detection systems in safeguarding satellite networks against unauthorised access and data breaches.

He stresses the need for continuous monitoring and threat intelligence sharing to detect and respond to emerging threats effectively. Countries using Starlink satellite-based internet service have to make sure that they have all these safeguards in place, Kareem says.

India had asked Starlink about its shareholders to know if any country in India’s neighbourhood with which it was at odds was on the list. India was particularly worried about China and Pakistan, the latter believed to be in cahoots with China. Starlink replied that no neighbourhood entity is a shareholder.

Links with US Military

SpaceX and Starlink have very close ties with the US military. Websites like www.spacenews.org have regularly reported the growing ties between SpaceX/Starlink and the various arms of the US military.

In March 2017, the US Air Force announced that it had awarded SpaceX a US$ 96.5 million contract to support the launch of a next-generation global positioning system satellite called GPS III.

In February 2019, the US Air Force’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office signed a US$ 28 million contract with SpaceX requiring the company to conduct military service demonstrations and verification using the Starlink constellation.

In May 2019, Defence Experimentation Using the Commercial Space Internet, or DEUCSI, tried out the Starlink satellite broadband services and demonstrated download speeds of 610 megabits per second into the cockpit of a C-12J Huron twin-engine turboprop aircraft.

In May 2020, the US Army said it would experiment using Starlink broadband to move data across military networks.

In October 2020, SpaceX received a contract worth more than US$ 149 million from the Space Development Agency (SDA), tasking the company with building a new satellite for the US military capable of tracking and providing early warnings of hypersonic missile launches.

SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket carrying more than 20 tons of payload into Low-Earth Orbit. Controlled recovery and soft landing of the first stage of the rocket and its reuse were achieved, greatly reducing launch costs. SpaceX has also undertaken the development and launch of the Dragon spacecraft.

Yan Jiajie and Yu Nanping say in their September 2024 paper in the Journal of International Security Studies that each Starlink satellite can transmit high-definition pictures and videos it takes over a war zone to front-line commanders.

The huge amount of data collected by UAVs over the battlefield will no longer need to be compressed locally, but will be transmitted in raw form directly to a command centre on the other side of the earth via Starlink, and then analysed by supercomputers to extract useful data and analyse the battlefield situation more precisely, enabling commanders in the war zone to make decisions more quickly and accurately.

Precision Targeting

On January 3, 2020, the US used a UAV to take out Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. On November 27 of the same year, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of Iran’s nuclear programme and its chief nuclear scientist, was assassinated near Tehran.

“These actions were made possible by the global high-speed communication and space-air coordination capabilities achieved via satellite networks. If Starlink is used on a large scale in the military field in the future, it will further enhance the US military’s satellite communication and unmanned combat capabilities, and be a threat to the national security of rival States,” Yan Jiajie and Yu Nanping point out in their paper.

They also say that the growing deployment of Starlink satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) will give the company control over a large amount of data, challenging the security of other countries.

Analyst Zhou Yuzhe points out that since the International Telecommunication Union’s principle for obtaining orbits and spectrum is “first come, first served,” Starlink will corner large amounts of orbital and spectrum resources, leaving less room for others.

The ‘Generals' Plan’ in Gaza: A genocide by starvation

 

Palestinians, who took refuge at Nuseirat refugee camp due to Israeli attacks, wait in queue to
receive food, distributed by a charity organization in Gaza City, Gaza on October 18, 2024.
[Moiz Salhi - Anadolu Agency

The ‘Generals' Plan’ in Gaza: A genocide by starvation

October 18, 2024 by Jamal Kanj  jamalkk  MEMonitor

George Orwell’s dystopian foresight could easily find new expressions in the ongoing Israeli wars of genocide in Gaza and Lebanon. Much like “war is peace”, the Biden administration and the European Union have contributed to creating phrases such as “aggression is self-defence,” “murder is collateral damage”, “safe areas are death traps” and “humanitarian aid is a starvation diet.”

After enduring a full year of Israeli terror, extreme torment and military occupation, fear never conquered Gazans. Despite the complete Israeli blockade – abetted with the help of the Egyptian regime – and the stark imbalance in military power, Gaza’s collective resistance, by all means necessary, remained steadfast and resilient.

Notwithstanding the above, Benjamin Netanyahu has not succeeded in achieving any of his declared objectives. For instance, less than seven per cent of the freed Israeli captives were recovered by force. Perhaps because the Israeli prime minister’s undeclared Zionist objectives, such as land grabs in the West Bank under the shadow of the Gaza genocide, took precedence over pursuing a proven venue for the release of Israeli prisoners.

Netanyahu’s war success can be only measured by Israel’s scale of vengeance, as the toll of the murdered and injured has reached 150,000. Gaza has been turned into a living hell. A war that pervasively and systematically diminished Gaza’s economic capacity, following an 18-year blockade that crippled the economy and forced upon it an ever-increasing sense of dependency.

Yet, Israel failed to bring any part of Gaza into submission. As a result, several Israeli generals, led by former national security adviser Israeli Maj-General Giora Eiland, contrived a new approach, the “Generals’ Plan”, to ethnically cleanse northern Gaza.

The Generals’ Plan is not exclusively a military strategy but rather an orchestrated noncombatant action, euphemistically termed to mask its true intention: genocide and ethnic cleansing through starvation. It calls first for the complete isolation of northern Gaza from the rest of the Gaza Strip. Second: compartmentalise northern Gaza into separate quarters and declare each section a war zone, forcing civilians to leave or become legitimate military targets.

The initial phase, which began in early October, blocked aid trucks from reaching the north and then segregated the Jabalia camp from its surroundings. In other words, genocide by attrition, one quarter at a time, in a slow motion.

As part of the Generals’ Starvation Plan, Israel bombed the only UN distribution center in Jabalia camp on Monday, murdering ten civilians queuing to receive food aid. Since last October, around 400,000 civilians remain in northern Gaza out of the original 1.2 million. Many refuse to evacuate despite the unbearable conditions. They know from historical experience that evacuation is an Israeli alias for ethnic cleansing. Once they leave, they may never return, as happened in 1948. They also saw what happened to those who evacuated, many were killed as they “moved south”, while others were murdered in the Israeli death traps, otherwise known as designated “safe areas.”

The Biden administration has been whitewashing Israeli use of starvation as a method of warfare since 9 October, 2023 when the Israeli minister of war declared “no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.” However, on Tuesday, a little over a year after the minister’s declaration, the American secretaries of state and defence sent Israeli officials a letter giving them another grace period of 30 days to allow food aid into north Gaza or risk a restriction of US military assistance to Israel.

The new warning feels like a classic case of a déjà vu. In April 2024, the Biden administration issued a similar warning to Israel ahead of a report that was being prepared by American officials examining Israel’s violation of the Leahy Law, particularly subsection 6201(a). The law stipulates that the US should not provide assistance to any country that “prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.”

Following that warning, US government agencies and officials concluded that Israel was blocking American humanitarian aid to Gaza. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) notified the State Department of Israel’s “arbitrary denial, restriction and impediments” of American aid to Gaza residents. In addition, the State Department’s refugee bureau issued a similar opinion stating that “facts on the ground indicate US humanitarian assistance is being restricted.”

Even after those palpable reports from the two US agencies, the Israeli Sayanim and American Secretary of State, told Congress on 10 May that Israel does not restrict “the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance” in Gaza.

Empowered by Washington, the Generals’ Starvation Plan aims to block the delivery of medical aid, food, fuel and water to the besieged quarter, currently Jabalia camp where more than 20,000 people live. This is part of what appears to be a gradual genocide, while creating the illusion of allowing aid trucks into the northern area, as the US ambassador informed the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

The entry of aid trucks does not guarantee the delivery of food to the starving population. It means that Israel retains complete control over what section is fed and who is left to starve. It also confirms that American officials continue to be Israel’s willing enablers to carry on with its Generals’ Starvation Plan in a systematic and phased mini-genocide⍐.

Is government mistaking the masses for asses

 

 Is government mistaking the masses for asses

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 Daily Mirror LK

In the run-up to the presidential election of 21st September this year, the JVP/NPP political combine was at the forefront of highlighting the problems of the poorer sections of our country. It campaigned on a platform of anti-corruption and protecting the poor and disadvantaged. 

It’s been less than a month since the new President Dissanayake was elected to office. Normally regime change in our country has been based on rejection of politics from one party to the second. This year saw a change -people opted for a third party. They voted on policies. 

Immediate past President Wickremesinghe was not elected by the public. To his credit, he steadied the ship of state and negotiated an IMF deal and build up the country’s creditworthiness. But steadying the ship of state came at a cost.  

The cost of living skyrocketed beyond the means of large sections of the community and the sitting president defeated. 

Poverty rates nearly doubled to 23.4 percent in 2024. The official poverty line (OPL)- (the OPL represents an absolute threshold, designed to ensure a person can meet a minimum nutritional intake of 2,030 kcal per day). In January 2024 OPL increased to Rs.17,014, indicating a family of four needed an income of Rs. 100,000 per month. 
According to NHS UK an average man needs 2,500kcal a day, an average woman 2,000kcal a day. Recent statistics show, the general average monthly wage in the formal sector of our country is estimated to be between Rs 45,000 to Rs. 60,000. Yet the cost of having 2 square meals daily is over Rs. 100,000 per month. 

For a large section of our people, poverty and malnutrition is now a persistent challenge and people could not meet it. 

The president’s victory was therefore a call for policy and system change. It brought the young and untested President Dissanayake to power. Dissanayake promised an end to corruption, family bandyism and offer a better deal to the weaker sections of our community.  

The empowering of Dissanayake is a despairing last gasp of a desperate people.

It was this despair, that changed the 3 percent vote presidential aspirant Dissanayake received during the November 2019 presidential election to a massive 42 per cent victory five years later. 

The new president initially made the correct moves. He informed the IMF he would lessen the burdens laid on poorer sections of the population. He trimmed his Cabinet to four members! Cut security and vehicles provided to Members of Parliament. He also promised reduced prices of specific commodities, a Rs. 3,000 increase to pensioners, subsidised agricultural inputs to farmers and fuel subsidies to fishing communities. 

A damned good performance one might be tempted to say. The reality however, is despite the new regime’s promise to alleviate the sufferings of the masses, little seems to have materialised.  

The government seems to be sweeping election pledges ‘under the carpet’. 
Recently prices of particular commodities which were earlier lowered, saw price increase. Apparently none of the president’s advisors had realised the cost of  producing of a single egg was higher than the selling price ordered by government.  
Days later the government announced a price rise of potatoes. Worse, the government has announced an increase in the tax on several food items.  

Mysoor dhal -an important source of vegetable protein- will see an increase in tax of .25 cts per kg. A special commodity tax of Rs. 302/- per kg has been imposed on Maldive fish. Fresh and frozen fish, with the exception of processed fish will be taxed at 10% or Rs. 400- per kg -whichever is higher! 

Come on President, your fish tax is a blow to our suffering masses. A blow to the solar plexus of the fishing community. Soon they may not have a market for their product as even the richer sections of society may not be able to afford the product. 

And, horror of horrors, the political Opposition claims new loans (sale of government bonds) amounting to billions are being spent to cover current expenditure rather than on profitable investment. 

If the political opposition is correct the quantum of debt repayment is increasing. 
With apologies to Charles Dickens, we may soon have to say “...think again AKD’ president of Sri Lanka⍐.

Questions Linger Over Australia’s Role In B-2 Spirit Strikes On Yemen

 

Questions Linger Over Australia’s Role In B-2 Spirit Strikes On Yemen

We now know that Australian air bases were used to support the Yemen strikes, although officials are tight-lipped about which aircraft types used them and how.

Thomas Newdick Oct 18, 2024 The War Zone

The U.S. Air Force used air bases in Australia to support the strikes on Houthi weapons bunkers in Yemen by B-2 stealth bombers earlier this week. At this point, there is some confusion as to whether B-2s were among the aircraft that used Australian bases, but USAF tankers likely supported the bombers, launching refueling operations from Australian soil. You can read our initial coverage and analysis of the B-2 strikes in Yemen here. Regardless, the development reflects the expanding military and strategic alliance between the United States and Australia, which has included upgrades for Australian air bases, specifically to better accommodate U.S. bombers.

The Australian Department of Defense has confirmed that Australian support for the U.S. strikes on Yemen on the night of October 16/17 did include “access and overflight for U.S. aircraft in northern Australia.”

A report from Australia’s national broadcaster ABC stated that “A remote Northern Territory air base has been used as a staging post for this week’s major U.S. airstrike on underground Houthi weapons stores in Yemen.”

This could point to Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal, a remote installation south of Darwin, which has been receiving upgrades to better accommodate U.S. bomber deployments, as you can read about here. The work is projected to be completed in late 2026. Available low-resolution satellite imagery for the dates in question doesn’t show any B-2s at Tindal — which is not conclusive in itself — but there are other possible operating locations in northern Australia, including some auxiliary installations.

RAAF Tindal seen in May of 2024 with the new apron for supporting U.S. bombers under
construction. (Google Earth)

Subsequently, the same broadcaster reported that the Australian Department of Defense would not confirm or deny whether U.S. aircraft involved in the strikes had taken off from Tindal. The emphasis on taking off may be critical here, as we will discuss later.

The ABC report on the subject was then altered to include a statement from an Australian Department of Defense spokesperson who said that B-2s were not operating out of Tindal, but would not provide further comments, due to operational security.

There has been plenty of speculation that B-2s at least used Tindal to recover to, landing there after the Yemen raid. That remains possible since the later Australian Department of Defense comment was in response to a question as to whether the stealth bombers were operating out of the base (i.e. taking off for the raid) as opposed to landing there afterward.

As for the official U.S. line, this appears to point to a roundtrip from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, the main operating base for the type, although it may be the case that one or more Australian bases were made available as an alternative landing site, after the mission. If the flight was direct, it would have literally flown around the world.

The periodic presence of U.S. bombers in Australia is by no means new, dating back to the early 1980s, while larger-scale training exercises in the country have involved U.S. bombers since 2005. More recently, the Enhanced Air Cooperation Initiative has been in place, involving deeper efforts to have the RAAF and U.S. military aircraft work closer together, with regular bomber rotations since 2018.

B-2s have been regular visitors to Australia in recent years, with four of the stealth bombers having deployed to RAAF Base Amberley, in Queensland, in 2022, something you can read more about here(n/a).

A U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bomber takes off from RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland.
Australian Department of Defense CPL Brett Sherriff

The bat-winged bombers were again in Australia earlier this year, when a pair made another visit to Amberley in August, for a Bomber Task Force mission.

It is meanwhile more or less certain that U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tankers did make use of Australian air bases to support the raids. Photos — backed up by some satellite imagery — show KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-46 Pegasus tankers at Cairns Airport in Queensland and more KC-135s at RAAF Amberley, soon after the strikes. Even if B-2s didn’t make use of Australian bases for the raid, it seems that U.S. tankers did, which would explain references to “access and overflight for U.S. aircraft in northern Australia.”

An Australian official further told ABC that the support Australia provided was “consistent with our long-standing alliance commitment and close cooperation, demonstrating the interoperability of our militaries.”

“Australia is committed to supporting the U.S., and key partners, in disrupting Houthi capabilities used to threaten global trade and the lives of mariners in the Red Sea, a vital international waterway,” an Australian Department of Defense spokesperson added.

U.S. Air Force F-22A Raptors assigned to the 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron along with 

Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs from No 75 Squadron and a KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft from No 33 Squadron, demonstrate a show of force by conducting an elephant walk at RAAF Base Tindal, Australia, July 31, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Spencer Tobler Staff Sgt. Spencer Tobler

While the raids may well have degraded the Houthis’ ability to wage their ongoing campaign against shipping in the Red Sea region, as TWZ previously pointed out, they were also tailored to deliver a powerful and highly specific message to Iran, the Houthis’ primary benefactor.

At this point, it’s unclear if that message was underscored by the use of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, better known as the MOP, a weapon ideal for attacking targets including the extremely hardened sites related to Iran’s nuclear program. This looked like a distinct possibility, especially due to the fact that B-2s were used for the strikes. The MOP, weighing in around 30,000 pounds, can only be carried by the B-2. Two can be carried by each of the stealth bombers at a time.

So far, the Air Force has not confirmed what weapons were used, although Air & Space Forces Magazine reports that the B-2s dropped 2,000-pound BLU-109-equipped GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), citing a “person familiar with the matter.”

Munitions maintainers from around the Pacific assemble BLU-109 munitions at Osan Air Base,
South Korea. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade Staff Sergeant Stephenie Wade

The BLU-109 is another precision munition with a penetrating warhead. Each B-2 can carry 16 of these weapons.

It’s also possible that 5,000-pound class bunker-busters might have been used, although the exact status of this weapon in the B-2’s inventory is unclear.

A very early graphic from the MOP program showing the bomb able to penetrate up to 60 feet
under the ground. By 2007, the weapon was reportedly capable of burrowing nearly four times
deeper than this. This also offers a comparison between the 2,000lb BLU-109-equipped guided
bomb and 5,000lb GBU-28. DOD via GlobalSecurity.org

As we reported at the time, whatever type of bunker-buster munitions were used by the B-2s, the raid was a very clear signal to Iran that the United States is uniquely well equipped to target critical facilities “no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified,” in the words of a Pentagon statement. While Iran was not mentioned by name, the implication is very clear.

While acknowledging that it provided support to the United States, specifically in its effort to blunt the Houthis’ ability to target Red Sea shipping, Australia also didn’t mention Iran by name.

Darwin lawmaker Luke Gosling told ABC that Australia works “incredibly closely with the U.S. Air Force” in the north.

Gosling added that there are “no deliberate messages being sent from Australia, other than we are in lock-step with our allies in order to uphold a rules-based order upon which Australia’s security and prosperity is so dependent.”

The most obvious example of the deepening relationship between Australia and the United States is the AUKUS initiative — standing for Australia, United Kingdom, United States. This is a wide-ranging effort, with standout items including the supply of nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia, and increased intelligence sharing.

A RAAF F-35A Lightning II, EA-18G Growler, and F/A-18F Super Hornet fly alongside a U.S.
Air Force B-52H from the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron based at Guam during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21. Australian Department of Defense SGT Andrew Eddie

At the same time, the United States has been ramping up bomber deployments at Tindal, while also sending bombers to other Australian air bases, as Washington continues to expand its military presence in the region.

The upgrade work at Tindal includes an expanded apron with space for up to six B-52 strategic bombers, squadron operations facilities, and maintenance infrastructure. Once completed, the airbase will be much better able to host bomber detachments, as well as tankers and fighters, with work also addressing fuel and munitions storage and mission planning buildings.

Work at Tindal, as well as AUKUS and other related developments, have been widely seen as a deterrent aimed toward China. While that remains true, it is now clear that the growing U.S. military footprint in Australia is also being leveraged to strike targets in the Middle East.

Significantly, Tindal will add another forward operating location for U.S. bombers, on top of Hawaii, Guam, and Diego Garcia, also in the broader region. Although with appropriate tanker support, there is no reason why bombers can’t also use the base to support operations in the Middle East or elsewhere.

It remains to be seen whether RAAF Base Tindal or any other base was used for the first time by B-2s conducting combat operations, but the fact that Australia was used to support air operations over Yemen, in and of itself, is a significant development, at a time of increasing military cooperation with the United States⍐. 

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Inside the Longest Bombing Run Ever

Wednesday, Dec 10, 2014 uso.org

Inside the Longest Bombing Run Ever

 By Dr. Mel Deaile

More than 14 years ago, America suffered the most devastating attack on its homeland. Once the debris and dust settled from the collapse of the twin towers, it became clear America had to respond.

Standing atop a pile of rubble at ground zero 13 days after the attack, President George W. Bush told first responders, “I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”

Addressing Congress and the nation a week later, Bush said, “Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.” While the president was making the case for action in the face of 9/11, at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the home of the B-2 stealth bomber, crews were already preparing for whatever military action the president ordered.

Whiteman sits about an hour east of Kansas City in the one-stoplight town of Knob Noster, Missouri. Since 1993, it has been the permanent home for America’s entire fleet of B-2 Spirit bombers. Although the initial plans were to create a fleet of 132 bombers, the end of the Cold War reduced that purchase to just 21 aircraft. Although each bomber has a tail number, it also has a moniker. The first 20 B-2s were named after a state in the union. The first B-2 named was the Spirit of Missouri, recognizing the home of America’s most advanced aircraft. The second B-2 was named the Spirit of California for the state where most of the assembly and testing of the aircraft had been performed. The last B-2 entered operation in 2000 and was simply named the Spirit of America.

Dr. Mel Deaile retired from the Air Force in 2014 as a colonel and now teaches at Air University in Alabama. | Photo credit Photo by Michael Ritz

One only has to look at the aircraft to realize its unique design. Not only does it resemble Jack Northrop’s concept of the flying wing, but it houses three computers working in parallel to operate its highly complex fly-by-wire design. While the B-52 and B-1 bombers have crews of five and four people respectively, the B-2’s digital cockpit design and redundant navigation system reduced the crew to just two people. Furthermore, the B-2 was the only aircraft initially capable of delivering the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) when it made its combat debut in 1999 over the skies of Yugoslavia during Operation Allied Force. Two years later, the B-2 would again lead the fight in a different part of the world.

On the morning of 9/11, a majority of the operational B-2 fleet was taking part in a Strategic Command exercise that had aircrews sitting in their jets monitoring radios. Just when the crews expected a transmission terminating the exercise, the opposite happened. Aircrews were ordered to assume a higher state of readiness and remain at their jets. Word spread throughout the fleet that a jet had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. With news of the second plane hitting the other tower, the entire force knew the implication. This was no accident. America was under attack.

For the next two days, B-2 crews would remain with their jets ready to respond. The exercise eventually ended, but the preparations did not. The 509th Bomb Wing identified six crews that would fly the initial B-2 missions, if called upon. For the next three weeks, these crews flew simulators and actual flights practicing their procedures and coordination. During his speech to Congress, Bush said, “The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate.” Holding true to his warning, operations over Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, less than a month after 9/11.

I came to the B-2 program in 1998 having previously flown the B-52 bomber for nine years. Upon completing B-2 initial qualification training in 1999, I served as a B-2 wing weapons officer, B-2 instructor pilot, and then assistant director of operations in the 393rd Bomb Squadron.

The other pilot on the mission, Brian “Jethro” Neal, came to the B-2 program having flown a tour in the F-16 Falcon at Hill Air Force Base.

We both came to the base on October 6, 2001, expecting our normal routine. We would review the mission, conduct simulator training, debrief, go home and return the next day. That night was different. As we arrived, the word was the first B-2s were to launch. Brian and I manned the spare aircraft the first night, meaning that if one of the first two aircraft broke, we would have an aircraft ready to go. When the first two aircraft got airborne, we shut down ours and went home.

We arrived at the base the next night and the planners informed us that we were to lead the formation for the second night of attacks in Afghanistan. Following a mission-specific brief and a brief among the formation, we reported to our jet where another crew already had the planes started and ready to go. We strapped in and taxied out to the runway with operators and maintenance folks lining the taxi route to salute the aircraft, knowing that these aircraft would soon be bringing justice to our enemies. Once airborne, I looked at Brian and asked, “What jet do we have anyway?” Looking at the aircraft maintenance logs, he replied, “The Spirit of America.”

A B-2 bomber refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker during a deployment to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. | Photo credit Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Val Gempis

About four hours into the mission, we approached the California coast for our first air refueling. For operations security reasons, the decision was made to fly the B-2s across the Pacific Ocean to their ultimate targets in Afghanistan. The sun was just starting to rise on the east coast as we approached the KC-135 refueling aircraft. We topped off our tanks and settled in for the next leg of our mission, which was the four-hour flight to Hawaii for our next air refueling. While the B-2 is a two-person aircraft, operating rules say two people only have to be in the seats during critical phases of flight: takeoff, air refueling, landing and, of course, bombing. Between refuelings, Brian and I took turns trying to get a few hours of rest in the modified “cot” behind the two ejection seats.

The pattern of meeting a much-needed gas station in the air happened at least three more times en route to Afghanistan. Our formation met tankers over Guam, through the Straits of Malacca and in the Indian Ocean, close to Diego Garcia. The voyage across the Pacific Ocean took more than 24 hours. Since the sun was coming up in the east as we started our voyage west, we traveled in daylight throughout our trek across the Pacific. The air refueling over the Indian Ocean was the last before we reached Afghanistan. We turned north and headed up the coast of India to our destination.

By the time we approached the Pakistani coast, two things happened. First, the sunlight that had accompanied us the entire journey slowly went away. In order to fight off the release of melatonin that comes at that moment, the flight doctor had given each crew member an approved “pick me up pill” to make sure everyone was alert going into combat. Second, 70 percent of the targets we stepped out the door with back in Missouri had changed. This meant reprogramming the targets for a majority of the 16 JDAMs that filled the two bomb bays on the B-2. That night, we conducted bombing runs on multiple targets throughout Afghanistan with the primary mission being to secure air superiority for air forces that would conduct subsequent attacks. During some bomb runs, we used the B-2’s onboard synthetic aperture radar to put eyes on target in order to refine target coordinates before releasing our JDAMs. After spending about two hours over enemy territory, we exited the country and headed for the last tanker that would give us the gas for our last leg of the journey. A radio call came over secure communications that the Air Operations Center wanted to know if we would be willing to head back into country since we had four JDAMs remaining. We accepted the mission.

With gas running low, we orbited in the Arabian Sea waiting for a tanker that would give us the fuel necessary for another trip into Afghanistan. While Brian got the fuel, I programmed the mission. With fuel onboard and a mission loaded, we commenced another journey into Afghanistan to strike the identified target. After 90 minutes, we exited Afghanistan a second time to find a waiting tanker to provide the fuel we needed reach Diego Garcia, our final destination.

Four hours later, we were approaching the u-shaped island, ready to touch land for the first time in 44 hours. The B-52 that landed immediately before us had an emergency upon landing forcing us to “go around.” After having been airborne for 44 hours, we enjoyed the 15-minute flight over the island.

We touched down after being 44.3 hours in the air. For Brian and I, the mission was over, but not for the Spirit of America. While we unloaded our gear, maintenance troops put oil into the running engines of the B-2. A fresh crew of two B-2 pilots got on board and within 45 minutes the stealth bomber was airborne for its 30-hour journey back to Missouri. While we flew more than 44 hours on our mission, the Spirit of America and five other B-2s operated for more than 70 hours without stopping. Not one aircraft broke or encountered engine trouble during the first three days. It is a true testament to the incredible engineering and design of the aircraft.

Earlier this year, I retired from the Air Force as a colonel. Brian, now a colonel (select), transitioned to the reserves, where he flies the Air Force’s most advanced aircraft—the F-22 Raptor. More importantly, the Spirit of America continues to serve the country from its home in Knob Noster, Missouri, and will do so long after Brian and me.

Of all the aircraft that could have flown the longest combat mission in aviation history, perhaps it was serendipity or providence that it was the Spirit of America that made that journey. The aircraft that represented the country showed that America will fly any distance, cover any ground and overcome any obstacle to bring justice to its enemies when she is attacked⍐.

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குறிப்பு; Wednesday, Dec 10, 2014 uso.org இந்தக் கட்டுரை 10 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முந்தியது.ENB

Israel claims Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed

Israel says Sinwar was killed on Wednesday in southern Gaza. PM Netanyahu says score is ‘settled’.

Israel says its forces have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that Sinwar was killed on Wednesday in southern Gaza.

“After completing the process of identifying the body, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated,” the Israeli military said.

“The dozens of operations carried out by the [Israeli military] and ISA [Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service,] over the last year and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination.”

Hamas has not commented on the Israeli claims. Israel has been conducting a war on Gaza since October last year, killing more than 42,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians. That followed Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, in which 1,139 people were killed.

The Israeli army and police carried out DNA checks to confirm Sinwar’s identity after it said its forces in Gaza had killed three people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to take the plaudits for Sinwar’s killing but added that it did not mean the war on Gaza was over.

“Today we have settled the score. Today evil has been dealt a blow, but our task has still not been completed,” Netanyahu said in a recorded video statement. “To the dear hostage families, I say: This is an important moment in the war. We will continue full force until all your loved ones, our loved ones, are home.”

Nearly 250 people were taken captive from Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks. About half have been released, and about 70 are believed to still be held in Gaza.

Assassinations

Sinwar, 62, was one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks on Israel and has been a prime target for Israel since then.

Chosen as Hamas’s leader in Gaza in 2017, he had previously been held in an Israeli prison for 22 years before being released as part of a prisoner swap in 2011.

Disciplined and determined, he was focused on fighting Israel.

Hind Hassan, a journalist who was one of the last people to interview Sinwar in 2021, said he told her Palestinians were expected to be “perfect victims, and that’s something that they cannot be”.

His claimed death comes months after the July assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader, in Tehran. Israel is believed to have been behind the killing.

Sinwar had been chosen as Hamas’s overall leader after Haniyeh’s killing.

Israel also claimed to have killed Hamas’s military chief, Mohammed Deif, in August although that has not been confirmed by the Palestinian group.

Outside Gaza, an Israeli attack in Beirut on September 27 killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas that has been locked in a conflict with Israel since October 8, 2023, saying its attacks were being conducted in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The war on Gaza has sparked a regional conflict, including groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, and even Iran, which conducted an unprecedented direct missile attack on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the killings of Nasrallah and Haniyeh.

An Israeli attack on Iran is expected and could potentially drag in the United States, which has sent a missile defence system and soldiers to Israel.

Families of captives waiting

People in Israel have celebrated the claims that Sinwar is dead, and family members of captives said they hoped a deal to secure the release of their relatives could now be secured.

“This is a critical, time-sensitive development as it relates to the hostages. Their lives are in great danger now more than ever,” said Orna Neutra, whose son Omer is being held in Gaza. “We’re calling on the Israeli government and the US administration to act swiftly and do whatever is needed to reach a deal with the captors.”

Israel has refused to agree a captive release deal that would also see a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners despite attempts by several countries to secure an agreement and Hamas’s stated receptiveness.

Instead, Netanyahu has called for a total victory over Hamas and has promised not to end the war until that happens.

In Gaza, many don’t believe that Sinwar’s killing will bring forward an end to the war.

“Sinwar’s killing will not stop the war because it is a war on the Palestinian cause and Palestinian existence,” said Salah Musleh, living in central Gaza. “Israel assassinated Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, [deputy chairman of the political bureau] Saleh al-Arouri, and today Sinwar, but the war has not stopped to this day. We are proud of this end to Sinwar.”

By Al Jazeera Staff 17 Oct 2024  

Published On 17 Oct 2024

Additional reporting by Maram Humaid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza.

Published On 17 Oct 202417 Oct 2024