India and China withdraw armored vehicles from Ladakh

1 India — China

The ’Hindustan Times’ reported that the Chinese army removed 200 tanks from the zone of contact with the Indian forces in the Eastern Ladakh, and deployed at least 100 heavy vehicles to transport the other military equipment from the area. It was reported that the Indian army is also pulling their armored vehicles from Ladakh, but at the same time — they remain on alert in case of unforeseen circumstances in the area. The withdrawal is planned to be over by Saturday. On 11th of February the Indian Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh, told to the parliament that New Delhi and Beijing had agreed to pull their troops out from the northern and southern shores of the lake Pangong Tso.

2 Myanmar

The ’Irrawaddy’ news website reported that the Myanmar police dispersed a protest against the seizure of power by the military, which was taking place near the Moulmein University. The police reportedly opened fire to disperse the protesters. The ’Frontier Myanmar’ reported that about 6 rounds were fired during the event. The police raided the campus of the Moulmein University where the protest took place. It was noted that students and teachers of the university have joined the civil disobedience action.

3 Afghanistan

The ’Ariana News’ TV reported while citing their police sources that on Thursday, 2 UN vehicles were attacked in Afghanistan. The attack was carried out on the highway that connects Kabul and Jalalabad. As a result of the attack, 5 people were killed. The Afghan TV channel ’TOLOnews’ quoted a statement from the UN mission in Afghanistan which reported that no UN staff members were killed in the attack. It was noted that «while escorting the UN vehicles, 5 local workers of the ’Afghan Security and Protection Service’ were killed».

4 The USA — Yemen

Ned Price, the spokesman of the US State Department, stated in a briefing that Washington has yet to exclude the Yemeni rebel movement ’’Ansar Allah’’ from the US list of terrorist organizations since the US Congress is still considering the issue. He noted that the leaders of the movement remain in the «UN sanctions, and on the list of our executive decree on threats to peace and stability». Ned Price confirmed the intention of the USA to remove the movement from the list. He added that «there is a terrible humanitarian situation in Yemen at the moment». According to Ned Price, the USA do not want to «do something that would make the situation of the Yemenis even worse».

5 Russia — the EU

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stated during an interview that the western anti-Russian sanctions can’t lead to a change in the Russian policy on the national interests. This was Sergei Lavrov’s comment on the words of the German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, that «’Nord Stream 2’ must be preserved in order to have a leverage over Russia». Heiko Maas also called to make more sanctions against Russia due to the situation with Alexei Navalny. Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow can potentially cut the ties with the EU if Brussels imposes sanctions that pose risks to the sensitive sectors of the Russian economy. The Russian Foreign Ministry later announced that Moscow is ready to break with the EU if such initiative comes from Brussels. Russia still calls for an equal and mutually respectful cooperation.

6 The USA

The impeachment of the ex-President Donald Trump continues in the USA. The prosecution stated that the storming of the Capitol by the Trump supporters threatened the national security of the USA. Congressman Joaquin Castro stated that there could have been spies among those who ran into the Congress. «We can’t be sure that there were no foreign spies that joined the crowd» — Joaquin Castro explained and added that any US enemy who would like to gain an access to the US classified information «would want to be in that crowd». The prosecution also mentioned the reaction of Russia, China, and Iran on the storming of the US Congress. According to Joaquin Castro — «after the Capitol incident, the Russian, Iranian and Chinese authorities used the opportunity to intensify their rhetoric in support of their own political interests during the presidential change in the USA’’. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS.