Will remain in Syria until final victory: Hezbollah

October 24, 2016

Lebanon, Oct 24: The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement says the group's fighters will remain in neighboring Syria until they achieve the final victory over foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists and purge the crisis-hit Arab country of extremists.

HezbollahAddressing people in a speech marking a week since the killing of the movement's military commander, Hatem Hamade, in Syria, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah dispelled illusions about Hezbollah forces' withdrawing from Syria, stressing that the fighters will leave Syria only after they have defeated Takfiri terrorists there.

"Our choice of going to Syria was very well studied after observing the regional developments that began in Tunisia and reached Syria," he said, adding, "Time has revealed that the battle in Syria is aimed at making existential changes on the ground as well as to the political map of the region."

“We will continue this battle until the end, and we are proud of our martyrs in Syria, and whoever bargains on our tiredness will lose,” he said, emphasizing that the security “we are living in now is not the outcome of agreements or mere prayers," but it is the outcome of efforts made by martyrs and their blood.

Nasrallah pointed out that Hezbollah fighters were not ordered by any third party to play a role in Syria, but rather entered the neighboring country following a comprehensive and extensive analysis.

The Hezbollah leader stated that the ongoing foreign-backed militancy in Syria is not simply aimed at toppling the incumbent Damascus government, but rather meant to make changes to demographic map and borders of the region in order to uproot certain groups of people.

The Hezbollah secretary general further condemned Saudi Arabia as the country actively supporting and financing the Daesh Takfiri terrorists group.

He added that leaded private emails related to former US secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, attest to the fact that Saudi Arabia and US were behind forming Daesh group.

Nasrallah also condemned the inaction and passivity of international human rights bodies toward crimes being perpetrated by Daesh terrorists in Iraq and Syria, noting that despite hundreds and thousands of people have been either beheaded or killed in other ways by this group, world rights bodies maintain their silence toward its crimes.

Yemen blockade threatening over 20 million people

Turning to the Saudi-led coalitions' aerial and naval blockade of Yemen, Nasrallah stated that the restrictive measures adopted by Riyadh toward its impoverished southern neighbor have affected the lives of more than 20 million people.

Nasrallah also took to task international organizations for their failure to adopt any decisive measure to end Saudi Arabia's brutal embargo on the Yemeni people.

All Iraqis fighting Daesh to liberate Mosul

Elsewhere in his speech, the Hezbollah secretary general said that people from all walks of life are currently fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, and dozens or even hundreds of people are sacrificing their lives in order to liberate the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

“Unfortunately, what Daesh is doing is under the name of [Prophet] Mohammad (PBUH). They want to throw this name, which has always shined in this world with glory, into darkness of Daesh,” Nasrallah said, adding that committing crimes under the name of Islam and its prophet is a deliberated and preplanned act by Daesh.

The secretary general of Hezbollah also slammed Turkish authorities' for their effort to pave the way for Turkish military to play a role in the operation for the liberation of Mosul, saying that they have a greedy eye on that area of the Iraqi territory.

Hezbollah endorses Aoun for Lebanon president

Elsewhere in his speech, Nasrallah focused on internal issues of Lebanon, including election of the country's new president.

The secretary general of Hezbollah praised former Lebanese prime minister, Saad Hariri, for his endorsement of the founder of Michel Aoun for presidency, emphasizing that the move paves the way for holding presidential election in a realistic manner.

In a televised news conference on Thursday, Hariri, who leads Lebanon's March 14 Alliance, voiced support for his rival, raising hopes for the settlement of a long-running deadlock on Lebanon's political stage.

"I announce today before you my decision to endorse the candidacy of General Michel Aoun for the presidency of the republic," Hariri said, adding that his decision "comes from the need to protect Lebanon and the state and the people."

Aoun, the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, is an ally of the Lebanese resistance bloc, Hezbollah.

Nasrallah added, “Everything can be solved through dialogue. We do not impose any decision on our allies. Each of us has his own approach.”

Nasrallah emphasized that Hezbollah's members of parliament would vote for Aoun to become president of Lebanon at a parliamentary session at the end of October.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since 2014, when the term of President Michel Suleiman expired.

The Lebanese parliament has repeatedly failed to elect a president due to the lack of quorum. The presidential election has been put off until the end of October.

Under Lebanon's power-sharing system, the president must be a Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shia Muslim.

Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah has accused Saudi Arabia of thwarting political initiatives and blocking the election of a president in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has strong relations with Amal

In another part of his speech, leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah noted that the movement has strong and deep-seated relations with the Amal (Hope) Movement, and that relationship cannot be disturbed with fabrications.

“We are honest and faithful to our allies and all we seek is to have a secure country,” Nasrallah said.

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News Network
June 1,2020

New Delhi, Jun 1: Actor Kendrick Sampson, who stars in HBO series Insecure, was struck by rubber bullets as Los Angeles police officers tried to disperse a crowd protesting George Floyd”s death in Minneapolis.

Floyd, a black man, died last Monday in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck for more than eight minutes. The officer was arrested on Friday and charged with third-degree murder.

The actor went live via Instagram on Saturday to show his view of events, but he could be also be seen on a CNN broadcast simultaneously, with viewers watching him get hit by a police baton on TV.

Sampson posted several videos on his page of a large demonstration at Pan Pacific Park near the city”s Fairfax District, where violent clashes took place throughout the day outside the Grove shopping center.

In one video, LAPD officers can be seen firing rubber bullets to try and regain control at the park.

“They shot me four times already. I already got hurt and I got hit with a baton,” Sampson said in the video on Instagram.

Another clip showed him moving away from the police, as he appeared to be hit by an officer”s baton.

“Y”all ain”t see no police f*****g up white folks when they took guns to the statehouse,” he said, referring to an incident in Michigan over coronavirus restrictions, not in California. “Y”all didn”t see police attacking white folks, beating em up with batons, shooting them with rubber bullets when they brought guns to f*****g state houses. We came up here with no weapons, with masks.… And we”re the ones who are not peaceful,” Sampson alleged.

Protests turned violent over Floyd”s death and other police killings of black people spread Saturday in dozens of US cities, with police cars set ablaze, reports of injuries mounting on all sides, shops and showrooms vandalised amid the lockdown.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Colombo, Aug 7: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's party and its allies won an overwhelming two-thirds majority in a parliament election, results showed on Friday, giving him the power to enact sweeping changes to the constitution.

The governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and its allies had won 150 seats in the 225-member parliament, according to the tally published by the election commission from Wednesday's vote.

Rajapaksa had sought a two-thirds majority in parliament to be able to restore full executive powers to the presidency, which he says are necessary to implement his agenda to make the tiny island economically and militarily secure.

He is likely to install his older brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the next prime minister. The brothers are best known for crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils during the elder Rajapaksa's presidency in 2009.

On a congratulatory phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, which is keen to check Chinese influence on its southern neighbour, Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed to deepen ties between the two countries.

"With the strong support of the people of Sri Lanka, I look forward to working with you closely to further enhance the long-standing cooperation between our two countries," he told Modi. "Sri Lanka and India are friends and relations."

The tourism-dependent nation of 21 million people has been struggling economically since deadly Islamist militant attacks on hotels and churches last year followed by lockdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 

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News Network
February 19,2020

Washington, Feb 19: US President Donald Trump has said he is "saving the big deal" with India for later and he "does not know" if it will be done before the presidential election in November, clearly indicating that a major bilateral trade deal during his visit to Delhi next week might not be on the cards.

"We can have a trade deal with India. But I'm really saving the big deal for later," he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews Tuesday afternoon (local time).

The US and India could sign a "trade package" during the visit, according to media reports.

Asked whether he expects a trade deal with India before the visit, Trump said, "We're doing a very big trade deal with India. We'll have it. I don't know if it'll be done before the election, but we'll have a very big deal with India."

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the point-person for trade negotiations with India, is likely to not accompany Trump to India, sources said. However, officials have not ruled it out altogether.

In an apparent dissatisfaction over US-India trade ties, Trump said, "We're not treated very well by India." But he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to his visit to India.

"I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot," Trump said.

"He told me we'll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under construction, but it's going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it's going to be very exciting... I hope you all enjoy it," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) in a report said the latest quarterly data depict continuation of overall positive bilateral trade trends. The third quarter data reflects some downslide in growth rates.

"It may be due to several reasons, including the unexpected economic slowdown in India's economic growth, impact of US-China trade war, GSP withdrawal from the US side and retaliatory tariffs on specific US goods from the Indian side," USISPF said.

According to the report, the data available for the first three quarters of 2019 (January-September) pulled the overall growth rate in cumulative bilateral trade down to 4.5 percent from 8.4 percent registered for the first two quarters.

Goods and services trade performance in third quarter was dismal at -2.3 percent, in contrast with the impressive 9.6 percent growth witnessed for the first two quarters of the year; while trade in services was up two percent goods trade dropped five percent, the report said.

The cumulative US-India trade in goods and services (USD 110.9 billion) for the first three quarters of 2019 increased 4.5 percent with US exports and imports growing at four percent and five percent respectively.

The US exported USD 45.3 billion worth of goods and services to India in the first three quarters 2019, up 4 percent from the corresponding period in the previous year; and the US imported USD 65.6 billion worth of goods and services from India, up five percent from the previous year's USD 62.5 billion level for the same period, it said.

The USISPF has projected that the total bilateral trade can touch USD 238 billion by 2025 if the current 7.5 percent average annual rate of growth sustains; however, higher growth rates can result in bilateral trade in the range of USD 283 billion and USD 327 billion.

The US remains the top trading partner for India in terms of trade in goods and services, followed by China. While the bilateral trade between US and India is approximately 62 percent in goods and 38 percent in services, the bilateral trade between India and China is dominated by goods.

China had a huge trade surplus of USD 58 billion with India, indicating Beijing's strength in the Indian market, especially in sectors, such as electronics, machinery, organic chemicals, plastics and medical devices.

The US goods exports to India, in comparison, were mainly concentrated in mineral fuels, precious stones, and aircraft. The US faces tough competition with China in the Indian market in areas such as electronics, machinery, organic chemicals and medical devices.

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