WATCH VIDEO: 1st Baku International Virtual Humanitarian Law Conference VIDEO Report

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Attiya Munawar

Pakistan and China are bound in everlasting ties of love and friendship. The long lasting, deep and strong fraternal ties between the two countries are based on mutual trust, confidence and respect, so the changes that have taken place at the international level have never had an effect, but the relationship has improved over time. Pak-China relations are paramount in every field. In recent years, China has turned its attention to investing in Pakistan and also several Chinese companies are operating in different sectors in Pakistan.

China has always strived to make Pakistan one of the developed nations and is always ready to work side by side in all areas including, economic, energy and defense. From cooperation in aviation from Pakistan to the exchange of delegations in trade and cultural fields, the two countries have not only grown closer, but these contacts have been very helpful in getting acquainted with each other’s culture and civilization.

And now on the occasion of the Chinese Defense Minister’s visit to Pakistan, it has been agreed to increase defense cooperation. Due to India’s aggressive demeanor, Pakistan is on the path of invincibility while maintaining its defense resources, and China is fully cooperating in making Pakistan’s defense invincible.

In the current objective situation, Pak-China relations are important. India is buying state-of-the-art military weapons from all over the world; its main target is Pakistan. Where India is invading Pakistani borders, it is also challenging China. In this context, Pakistan and China have come closer. Strategic ties between Pakistan and China are important for peace, stability and development in the region, so both sides reaffirm their commitment to further strengthen the everlasting Pak-China Strategic Cooperative Partnership to build a community with a common future in the new era.

In this regard, CPEC is a major transformational project in the region. Completion of CPEC projects will not only open new doors of development and prosperity for the people of Pakistan, but will also create more opportunities for expansion in China’s economy. The civil and military leadership of Pakistan is hopeful for the success of CPEC, which will prove to be a milestone in Pak-China friendship and the completion of this project will bring immense economic benefits to both the countries.

There is no doubt that the CPEC project will pave the way for prosperity and development in the region, but India is working hard to sabotage such an important project. The United States is backing India in light of the changing situation in the region, while China and Pakistan have welcomed the signing of a peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Afghanistan, both hoping that the international community will now fully support Afghanistan’s post-conflict reconstruction and economic development. The United States and India signed a defense agreement two months ago to provide sensitive satellite data in response to efforts by Pakistan and China to save the region from armed conflict. The agreement was reached at a time when India’s border dispute with China was at its height, and with the help of this sensitive data, India will be able to accurately and precisely target missiles, drones and other targets. India has apparently done the deal for China in the US interest, but its real target is Pakistan, which is why the Indian Prime Minister has started openly threatening his neighbors. It is not possible for Pakistan in such a situation to watch the deteriorating defense balance hand in hand, Pakistan will have to meetthe need for latest technology.

India is preparing to impose a regular war on Pakistan intoxicated with modern nuclear weapons obtained from various countries including the United States, France, Germany and Britain. So, any major tragedy could happen tomorrow at his hands, but the international community is silent in the guise of its own interests.OIC, the representative body of the Muslim world, in its meeting focused on the ongoing Indian fanaticism in occupied Kashmir,urged India to restore the constitutional status of Kashmir and resolve the Kashmir issue on the basis of Security Council resolutions. The Indian leadership is on fire and is trying to escalate the atmosphere of provocation by making awkward statements against Pakistan. If its expansionist ambitions are not curtailed, the peace and security of the region will be at stake.

Undoubtedly, the world is not ready to stop India’s fanatics, even though they are aware of their extremist ambitions, because their interests stand in the way. In view of the emerging situation on the world stage, Pakistan will have to seriously consider its options and make decisions in the context of national interest. Pakistan has long been an ally of the United States. But now in the changing circumstances, the United States has made India the focus of its hopes in the region. Pakistan needs the CPEC project and Chinese investment to secure its economic future. While the CPEC project is a means of further strengthening friendship with China, it has also distanced itself from the United States. The growing conflict between China and the United States will definitely increase the diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. Pakistan has to do its best to avoid falling into the trap of competition between the two major powers. However, Pakistan and China need a new balance of power in the region. Pak-China bilateral defense relations can help maintain the balance of power.

Written by

Attiya Munawer

Twitter: @AttiyaMunawer

Email- attiabutt121@gmail.com

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The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, which obtained a score of over 8%, according to centralized data after counting 95% of the votes , was founded by George Simion, known as the initiator of the "Action 2012" platform. union with the Republic of Moldova.

Among the ideas for which George Simion militatively declares are many sensitive historical themes from the classical nationalist panoply, but their way of promotion, aggressive, conflictual and provocative, fits perfectly with the manual techniques of destabilizing Romania, promoted by the Kremlin regimes, in the last hundred years. An eloquent example is the confrontations in Valea Uzului, which George Simion initiated and which brought to mind the violent incidents in Târgu Mureș, in March 1990.

Coupling nationalist themes with protests against anti-COVID restrictions imposed by the authorities and a strident Russian-inspired "religious freedom" speech seem to confirm fears that the GOLD is, if not initiated, at least supported by the Putin regime. In addition to the outspoken support of Sputnik, Russia's propaganda organ, it is worth noting that Moscow has long openly acknowledged that it agrees with Romania's union with Moldova, in its terms, which include the official abandonment of Transnistria. .

George Simion also ran as an independent in the 2019 European elections, under the slogan "Greater Romania in Europe". On January 12, 2019, the politician announced, at the presentation of the candidacy, that he will bring to the public's attention topics that he considers of national interest: the union of Bessarabia with Romania, protecting the rights of Romanians in historical communities, supporting Romanians in Harghita and Covasna counties, capitalizing on the potential of the diaspora and counteracting what he calls the "mafia system" which he considers to be blocking the development of Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

In October 2016, George Simion, the leader of the march for the unification of Bessarabia with Romania, was detained after trying to force the gendarmerie cordon. He became a controversial figure, suspected of political sympathies and electoral games on both banks of the Prut, notes Adevarul.

George Simion was born in Focsani, on September 21, 1986. He was a student of the Faculty of Administration and Business at the University of Bucharest, then moved to Iasi, where he defended a master's degree in history at the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University.

He distinguished himself as the leader of the "New Golan" group, which was intended to be a continuation of the 1990 street movement in University Square. Together with the "New Golans", George Simion introduced the message "Bessarabia is Romania" among the football galleries.

In May 2015, George Simion was declared undesirable for a period of 5 years in the Republic of Moldova, by a decision of the Migration and Asylum Bureau, being expelled from the country. In September 2015, the Chisinau Court of Appeal ruled that there was no reason for Simion to be declared ungrateful.

George Simion was one of the most vocal voices in the Hungarian-Romanian dispute. He was involved in clashes at the Valului Uzului cemetery, where he led nationalist protesters.

After announcing the exit-poll estimates, after the elections of December 6, 2020, George Simion said:

"It is a great victory that we manage to achieve one year after the existence of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians. It is announced to be a very good result, we took over the 500,000 votes that we proposed and which should ensure our entry in the Parliament, if the whole electoral process is carried out properly. Congratulations to hundreds of thousands of supporters. (…) It is a future victory that will belong to you. It is a victory for the Romanian people. (…) We will not disappoint you, we will not betray, we will not enter, in any of the variants, in any governing coalition, we are the people of the facts. We are the people who promised not to see any difference between Klaus Iohannis' parties and Marcel Ciolacu's parties. "

According to him, the AUR representatives who will enter the Parliament will vote for each initiative "in the interest of the Romanian people".

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COURTESY universul.net

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 7 - President Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan highly values its ties with Belarus and wants to further enhance bilateral relations with Belarus in all fields of mutual interest, including trade and investment, science and technology, culture and defense. 

He stated this while talking to the outgoing Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus, Mr Andrei Ermolovich, who paid a farewell call on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today. Talking to the Ambassador, the President said that Pakistan was keen to promote trade and cultural cooperation with Belarus.

He highlighted that Pakistan offered promising opportunities for joint ventures and investment and would welcome Belarusian investment in Pakistan. The President remarked that both countries had great potential for cooperation in the areas of culture, tourism and pharmaceuticals and emphasized the need for increasing cooperation in these areas for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The President expressed the hope that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the two countries on cooperation in the field of education, would greatly help in strengthening cultural linkages. 

He congratulated Andrei Ermolovich on the successful completion of his tenure as Ambassador and expressed the hope that he would continue to promote Pakistan-Belarus relations.

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 7 (DN) – MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, is pleased to hear of the report that due to the successful implementation of the nation-wide polio immunization campaign last week, over 39 million have been vaccinated, which is equivalent to 98% of its target.

He paid tribute to the effort of around 285,000 polio workers who were engaged in the house-to-house vaccine campaign amid the growing anxiety about the second wave of COVID-19 in Pakistan.

Since 1996, Japan has been supporting Pakistan in its effort to eradicate polio from the nation, with a cumulative amount of $229 million.

Ambassador MATSUDA added, “the Government of Japan will continue to help Pakistan in cooperation with international partners to reduce the immunity gap and protect its children from the highly infectious disease.”=DN

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Within a couple of weeks, it will be possible to buy a corona test kit at pharmacies in Spain. People will then be able to test themselves at home.

The price for the home testing kit is approx. NOK 250, which is far cheaper than what a normal PCR test costs at the doctor.

Prices vary greatly from country to country and several have free tests.

The new testing method is almost like measuring blood sugar. The test results are available in 15 to 20 minutes.

The home test has been approved by the EU and the Spanish authorities.

Following up on other tests

The test is probably best suited for those who have taken a PCR test and who want to follow it up with a new test.

The test is called Primacovid “Prima Home Test”.

Norwegian municipalities are currently receiving hundreds of thousands of rapid tests.

In Norway, people are tested with a swab in the back of the throat and nose at the moment.

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COURTESY NORWAY TODAY

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 7 – Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry leading a 45-member business delegation visited the SEZs of Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) to explore industrial cooperation and investment opportunities.

Vice President ICCI Abdul Rehman Khan, Founder Group Chairman Mian Akram Farid, Khalid Javed, Tariq Sadiq, Nasir Qureshi, Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi, Nasir Khan, Shaban Khalid, Zafar Bakhtawari, Chaudhry Waheed ud Din, Karim Aziz Malik, Iftikhar Anwar Sethi, Mahmood Warraich, Shakeel Munir, M. Javed Iqbal, Umar Hussain, Mehboob Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Shakir, Usman Khalid, Naeem Siddiqui, Mian Arif Hussain, Tahir Ayub and others were in the delegation.

Chairman FIDMC Mian Kashif Ashfaq arranged the visit of ICCI delegation to SEZs being constructed under CPEC including Allama Iqbal Industrial City and M3 Industrial City. Aamir Saleemi, Chief Executive Officer, FIEDMC and other officers were also present. The delegation also visited the Ittehad Steel owned by ICCI former President Khalid Javed and Honda Assembly plant in Faisalabad to see their production activities.

Speaking at the occasion, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that under the leadership of Mian Kashif Ashfaq, Chairman FIEDMC, international standard infrastructure and services were being provided in SEZs which was commendable and added that these SEZs were providing an ideal environment for investment. 

He said that Pakistan needed an industrial revolution to get rid of the debt burden and achieve sustainable economic development for which the establishment of more such modern SEZs across the country was very important.

He hoped that FIEDMC SEZs would attract local and foreign investment and make a significant contribution towards the economic stability of the country. He said that ICCI was working with Federal and Punjab governments for a new industrial estate in Islamabad and hoped that FIEDMC would cooperate by sharing its expertise and experience in developing it on modern lines. He said that some members of ICCI delegation have shown interest to make investment in FIEDMC’s SEZs. 

He assured that he would try to bring a delegation of foreign diplomats from Islamabad to FIEDMC to show them the investment potential in its SEZs so that they could encourage investors of their respective countries to invest here. He said ICCI would also open a Facilitation Desk of FIDMC to brief the prospective investors and visiting foreign delegations about investment potential in SEZs of FIEDMC

Founder Group Chairman Mian Akram Farid and former President ICCI Khalid Javed also lauded the quality development in FIEDMC’s SEZs and said that the government should construct similar types of SEZs in other parts of the country including Islamabad. Khalid Javed said that he has already set up an industrial unit in Allama Iqbal Industrial City and was fully satisfied with the facilities and services of FIEDMC.

In his address, Chairman FIEDMC Mian Kashif Ashfaq welcomed the ICCI delegation and said that FIEDMC was ready to provide a separate cluster of 200 to 300 acres in Allama Iqbal Industrial City to ICCI members for setting up industrial units. He said that in the cluster, all the required facilities will be provided to investors as per their needs on priority basis. He further said that the development work in Allama Iqbal Industrial City was in full swing and five major industrial units have already started construction of their production plants. He said that investors of this economic zone would be provided cheaper electricity than the market rate from next year. 

He said that even at present 5 MW power was being supplied to Allama Iqbal Industrial City which will soon be increased by another 20 MW while NTDC and NEPRA have provided 500 MW of power directly to FIEDMC. He said that a utility services center was being set up in Allama Iqbal Industry City for the convenience of investors where representatives of FESCO and SSGPL will be present to provide electricity and gas connections to the investors and they will not have to visit the head offices of these institutions.

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• The newly established airline of former Braathens SAFE director Erik G. Braathen will be called Flyr.

OSLO, DEC 2020 - The airline announced its name on Saturday. At the same time, it also launched its website. 

It is not possible to buy any tickets on the pages yet, but the company hopes to get planes off the ground during the first half of next year.

Since the news broke in October that aviation industry veteran Erik G. Braathen would compete with the other players in the strongly corona-influenced aviation market, there has been silence about the investment. 

Now, however, the group’s management has been hired, with Tonje Wikstrøm Frislid as the top manager. 

It has also been decided that the new airline will have its main base at Oslo Airport. 

Furthermore, it has been decided that it would mainly focus on the Norwegian market, according to newspaper Finansavisen.

“An attractive offer for customer”

“For customers, we must present an attractive offer, and having low costs will be absolutely crucial,” Erik G. Braathen told the newspaper.

A number of former top managers from crisis-stricken Norwegian have been hired in the new airline, including the top manager who previously worked for Norwegian in several roles.

Tonje Wikstrøm Frislid says Flyr will be a company with a more sustainable business model than the other companies in aviation.

“We must all fly less in the years ahead to take care of the environment. That is exactly why we are building a company that is not dependent on getting more and more people to fly more and more to achieve profitability,” she said.

In October, the government refused to support the new airline financially. 

However, the government’s decision did not have any consequences for the establishment of the company.

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COURTESY NORWAY TODAY

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Ahmad Fraz Khan

Located on the extreme southern edge of Punjab, Rahim Yar Khan is a geographically diverse district. It is spread across a vast desert and enormous riverine area with three canals that water its farmlands. This natural endowment gives it enormous tapped and untapped potential for agricultural and livestock production.

The district has benefitted a great deal from this natural gift. It is known for the finest quality cotton. It has helped Pakistan meet its milk and meat requirement. It is now sustaining the sugar industry by producing high-yield sugar cane.

The success, however, has its flipside. The district morphed from being a cotton champion to the sugar industry’s sustainer. It is now persistently blamed for failing cotton crop and hurting textiles at a most critical juncture of our economic journey.

For the last one and a half decade, the district is known, at least in the agricultural sense, for jettisoning cotton and embracing sugar cane. The trend seems irreversible at least for now. The sugar industry not only led the change but also cemented its success both at policy and commercial levels to an extent that a reversal looks almost impossible.

The commercial success of the sugar industry has been so comprehensive that traditional landlords are now sugar mill owners as well

It has helped farmers improve seed. It has helped them lease out vast tracts of land at double the normal rate. It has helped farmers introduce latest machines and techniques. Most importantly, the cut-to-crush time has gone down to less than 24 hours, securing huge financial benefit in the process.

At the policy level, sugar cane production has been incentivised with a two-pronged strategy: steadily increasing the minimum indicative price and ensuring ample water for this water-guzzling crop. The five-year acreage chart further clarifies the situation. As per the data of the Punjab Crop Reporting Service, the area under cultivation of sugar cane increased from 310,000 acres in 2014-15 to 430,000 acres this year. In 2017-18, it touched 477,000 acres before sliding down a bit subsequently. Its production rose from 10.56 million tonnes to 13.2m tonnes in the same period. Six sugar mills — two plants of JDW, RYK Group, Hamza, Ittehad and Gulf — in the district led and rode the cane bandwagon.

Fed from the Panjnad barrage, supply data shows how water helped ensure the cane success in Rahim Yar Khan. Three canals — Panjnad, Abbasia and Abbasia Link — irrigate over 1.5m acres in the district that is mainly a brackish aquifer although there are a few sweet water pockets.

Their joint allocation (both for Kharif and Rabi) as per the Irrigation Department data is 5.05m acres feet (maf) a year. The district received 6.96maf in 2014-15, 7.11maf in 2015-16, 5.96maf in 2016-17, 4.99maf in 2017-18, 6.67maf in 2018-19 and 6.27maf last year. During these years, the province has suffered up to 40 per cent seasonal shortages. Yet water supplies to Rahim Yar Khan remained impervious to these troubles mainly because of flood supplies during the monsoon.

The commercial success of the sugar industry was so comprehensive that traditional landlords, including many branches of the Makhdoom family, are now sugar mill owners as well. New entrants like Chaudhry Munir and Jahangir Khan Tareen earned a place in national politics on the back of their successes in the sugar industry.

The decline of cotton happened alongside the rise of sugar. During the period mentioned above, cotton acreage dropped from 511,000 acres to 474,000. The dip was sharp in 2017-18 when its acreage dropped to 389,000 acres. Its production came down from 743,000 bales to 621,000 bales during the same period. Cotton has had many problems of its own. It was not the only crop rolled over by sugar cane: many mango orchards that dotted the district also lost their battle to cane.

Apart from the cotton-cane battle, the district has been a livestock success story because of rangelands in the Indus catchment. Livestock is a result of the nomadic lifestyle of the Cholistan tribes, which also feeds it. As temperatures start rising in the desert, many tribes and their huge herds follow rains — feeding their animals along the way — to the river catchment. This is in addition to over 200 cattle farms (of more than 50 animals) and over 400 buffalo farms and individual livestock farming in the district.

Eleven districts in South Punjab meet 60pc beef and meat requirements of the province. Rahim Yar Khan alone contributes 12-14pc of the supply chain, according to data released by the Livestock Department.

As for milk production, the district produces over 500,000 litres daily and is a major supplier to multinational corporations that sell milk to consumers. Of late, low fat and more nutritious camel milk has carved out a niche market for itself, thanks to some local initiatives by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences that connect producers to major city markets.

The district has historically been dominated by the Makhdooms, Qureshis, Legharis and Rais families. It has also been helped a lot by the United Arab Emirates whose ruler, the late Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, started making yearly sojourn to the area to hunt houbara bustard and deer in the 1960s and ’70s. He and his sons helped build roads, hospitals, schools and colleges in the area that helped achieve close to a 40pc literacy rate in a predominantly rural district.

Of late though their interest seems to be waning, but the infrastructure investment in the area still reflects the attention it once received from the Arab world.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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BUCHAREST, DEC 7 - Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă will be, according to the results of Sunday's election, one of the new parliamentarians of the next four years, she will run from AUR for a senator seat.

The Covid-19 pandemic helped Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă to gain notoriety on the Internet and to get involved in politics, criticizing the measures taken by the authorities in the context of the pandemic.

Among the decisive moments in gaining the sympathy of some voters were the bans imposed on the pilgrimage by St. Parascheva, from Iasi, but also the offensive of His Eminence Theodosius against similar measures on the pilgrimage to St. Andrew. In fact, he also represented the Constanta hierarch in court, when he tried to obtain the lifting of the restrictions in the county.

But Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă's public outings cover a wider range of topics specific to those aired by Russian propaganda - from conspiracies to Romania's colonial status.

AUR, the extremist party that is the big surprise of Sunday's parliamentary elections, is supported from the shadows, among others, by the millionaire Bobby Păunescu.

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COURTESY universul.net

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