A terrorist attack on the Syrian servicemen

1 Syria

The ’Al-Hadath’ TV reported that there was a shoot-out in the Syrian province of Deraa, in the village of Tufas. On Monday, a group of armed men attacked a group of Syrian servicemen. The attack killed at least 11 soldiers. 3 were captured by the terrorists.

2 China

The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration has announced that the Chinese Navy will conduct exercises in the South China Sea from 27th to 30th of January. The department announced on their website that the exercises will take place to the west from the Leizhou Peninsula. In this regard, China is introducing a temporary ban on shipping in that area. The department has clarified the location and the conditional boundaries for the civilian and foreign military ships.

3 France

A resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the monitoring committee’s report for the year of 2020 stated that Azerbaijan and Armenia must refrain from the rhetoric that interferes with the political dialogue. Both countries should implement the provisions of the agreement on the Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible. The PACE noted «the role of Russia in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict». The PACE also called on Yerevan and Baku «to fulfill the provisions of the agreement from 9th of November, 2020, on the humanitarian issues, as soon as possible». The PACE recommended «to immediately begin the exchange of PoWs, to respect the cultural heritage, and to refrain from the rhetoric that interferes with the political dialogue».

4 Russia

During a joint press-conference after the negotiations with the Iranian Foreign Minister — Mohammad Javad Zarif — the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stated that Russia and Iran are interested in the maintaining of the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan on the Iranian nuclear program. The parties hope that the USA will return to the implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolution. The Iranian Foreign Minister stated that Tehran would respond to the constructive US actions on the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan on the Iranian nuclear program. He underlined that so far the USA only make statements.

5 The USA

On Monday night, some representatives from the lower house of the US Congress submitted a resolution to the US Senate aimed to impeach the former US President, Donald Trump. The broadcast was conducted on the Senate’s website. There is only one article of accusation in the resolution — an incitement to a mutiny. The impeachment process will begin after 8th of February. The ’TASS’ news agency noted that for the first time in the US history the same president, who has also resigned by now, has been subjected to the removal procedure twice.

6 Japan

The ’Kyodo’ news agency quoted the words of the Japanese Defense Minister, Nobuo Kishi, who stated that the Japanese Ministry of Defense does not intend to deploy amphibious troops of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces at the US Marine Corps base ’’Camp Schwab’’, at north-east of Okinawa. On Monday, the ’Kyodo’ reported that the USA and Japan, allegedly, reached such secret agreement back in 2015. The agreement was, reportedly, reached without the knowledge of the civilian staff members of the Japanese Defense Ministry, which violates the Japanese principles of the civilian control. Thus the deployment plan wasn’t implemented. It was noted that the deployment of such forces in Okinawa has a strategic importance for Japan, given the territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.