The Suez Canal, known as the backbone of world trade, is one of the main sea crossings in the world. This makes up 12% of the world's total merchandise.
In such a situation, after the cargo ship going from China to the Netherlands got stuck on the morning of Tuesday, 23 March 2021, it is expected to have a serious impact on the business of the world.
This cargo ship has blocked the way for the rest of the ships.
Niels Madsen, vice president of products and operations at Denmark's consultancy firm C-Intelligence, predicts that if this ship is stuck for 48 hours, the already serious condition will slowly deteriorate.
He told the news agency Reuters that if this happens for three to five days, then it will start to have a very bad effect on world trade. The most common is the possibility of inflation rising due to the halt of movement of goods.
Why is the Suez Canal so important?
1) An important link to unite east and west
The Suez Canal is a 193 km long canal located in Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe. This waterway crosses the Svez isthmus (Strait) in Egypt. This canal consists of three natural lakes.
The importance of this canal, active since 1869, is that ships to the eastern and western parts of the world first used to sail on the southern tip of Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. But after the construction of this waterway, ships began to sail through this part of West Asia to Europe and Asia.
According to the World Maritime Transport Council, the ship connecting Asia and Europe has to cover a distance of nine thousand kilometers after the construction of this canal. This is 43 percent of the total distance.
2) daily value of 9.5 billion
According to consultancy firm Lloyds List, on Wednesday, 24 March 2021, 40 cargo ships and 24 tankers were stranded waiting to cross the canal.
Dry products such as grain, cement are loaded on these vessels. At the same time, petroleum products are filled in tankers.
Eight ships carrying livestock and water tankers are also stranded, according to the news agency Bloomberg.
Given the condition of the Suez Canal and its importance, it is called one of the few 'choke points' of the earth. Therefore, the US Energy Agency considers the Suez Canal to be essential for global energy security and the supply of all types of goods.
According to an estimate, about 19 thousand vessels from the Suez Canal carry 120 million tonnes of cargo every year. The Lloyds List believes that $ 9.5 billion worth of freight ships pass through this canal every day. Of these, about $ 5 billion goes to the west and $ 4.5 billion goes to the east.
3) Very important for supply chain
Experts say that this channel is very important for the supply of goods in the world. So its blocking can have serious consequences.
C Intelligence analyst Lars Jensen says the first problem may be in port congestion.
He said, "If we assume that all the ships are full. So in terms of 55 thousand TEUs (capacity measuring unit of container), within two days, a total of 110 thousand TEUs of goods going from Asia to Europe will be trapped. And as soon as the jam is over, all these ships will arrive at the European ports simultaneously, so that the load there will also reach the peak. ''
Jensen estimates that within a week we will have to see tremendous pressure on European ports. In his opinion, due to this problem, the supply and price of every goods sold in the shops is feared to be affected.
4) Risk of rising inflation
Salvatore Mercogliano, a marine affairs expert and history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina in the US, believes that the problem could have serious repercussions on world trade.
In a conversation with the BBC, he said, "With the closure of the canal, cargo ships and oil tankers are unable to deliver food, fuel and finished goods to Europe." Due to this, no goods are being sent from Europe to the far east.''
BBC economic correspondent Theo Legatt said, "The Suez Canal is critical to the transportation of petroleum and liquid natural gas, as fuel is transported from the Middle East to Europe."
Lloyds List Intelligence reported that 5,163 tankers had passed through the canal last year. Due to this, about two million barrels of oil were transported every day.
According to the US EIA, the Suez Canal and the Sumed Pipeline (from Alexandria in the Mediterranean Sea to the Suez Bay) carry nine percent of the total oil traded by the sea and eight percent of the liquid natural gas.
Given the importance of the canal and the current problem, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, oil prices increased by more than six percent. However, it declined on Thursday, 25 March 2021.
ING Bank believes that if this blockage is prolonged, it is more likely that buyers will have to turn to the cash market to secure oil supplies from elsewhere.
The containers must also decide whether to wait for it to be emptied or go through the 'Cape of Good Hope'. According to ING Bank, freight will be delayed if either of the two options are chosen.
In the opinion of experts, the real effect of the existing problem will be revealed only with time.
"The problem will probably be weak and short-lived," Bionar Tonhaugen of the Ristad cabinet told news agency AFP. But if this obstruction continues for a long time, then it will increase inflation. This effect will last for a long time.''
Effect on other goods
"There are millions of dollars worth of goods on other ships," Ian Woods, a London-based lawyer for Clyde & Co's maritime affairs, told NBC. If the canal is not normalized quickly, the ships will go by other routes. This means more time and more cost. And this will ultimately be recovered from the consumers only.''
Leggett, a BBC expert, said it was a nightmare.
He said, "This has shown what can go wrong when new generation big ships like the Ever Given pass through the narrow canal."
However, parts of the canal were widened in 2015 as part of the modernization plan. Yet it is very difficult to navigate. Not only this, more serious accidents are expected in the future.
The Modi government at the Center in India will bring a new law to regulate social media and digital content in the next three months. Law Minister of India Ravi Shankar Prasad and Communications Minister of India Prakash Javadekar announced this at a press conference in Delhi.
Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Social media is doing business in India, they have done good business and strengthened the Indian people. But at the same time there have been complaints of irresponsible use of social media for the last several days.
According to the Modi government, over the past few years, there have been many complaints on social media like promoting violence, sharing obscene content, using other country's posts, the government has brought new guidelines to deal with it and in three months it A law will be made for this.
What are the guidelines?
Explaining the guidelines, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Social media is divided into 2 categories, one intermediary and the other signifcant social media intermediary. We will soon issue a notification of the user number for this. ''
"If a complaint is made about the dignity of the users, especially the dignity of women, then the content has to be removed within 24 hours of making the complaint."
He said that the law of significant social media will be implemented in three months.
Apart from this, social media companies will have to make a grievance redressal mechanism and also make the name of the officer handling the complaints public. This officer will register the complaint in 24 hours and resolve it in 15 days.
He said that Significant Social Media will have to appoint Chief Compliance Officer, Nodal Content Person and a Resident Grievance Officer, all of which will be in India. Apart from this, they will also have to issue a report related to the disposal of complaints every month.
Account verification will be necessary
Modi government said, furthermore, to ensure that fake accounts are not created on social media, companies will be required to make the verification process mandatory.
Who has made a post on the social media platform, the company has to give this information on the court's order or the government's asking.
Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "On asking any court or government, they have to tell who started a post. If started from outside India then who started in India. This should be in relation to India's sovereignty, national security, relations with foreign states, rape etc. ''
However, social media companies have often argued that in order to provide such information, they have to break the end to end encryption and save the user's data, which would violate their privacy. End to end encryption means that no third (even company) can hear or read the conversation between two people.
In response to a question related to how the company can provide this information, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "We are not asking to break encryption, we are just asking who started it."
He cited some guidelines of the Supreme Court that these steps are necessary to prevent the spread of pornographic material, rape, gang rape videos. Apart from this, he said that many news reports of social media posts have also come out from outside the country.
Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the purpose of all these rules is to give more power in the hands of the people. Talking in detail on this, he said, "If a significant post is removed, the company will have to give a reason for it."
He said that all these things will be asked by the platforms to create a mechanism.
Ravi Shankar Prasad also gave users data on different social media platforms. According to him, there are 53 crores of WhatsApp in India, 44.8 crores of YouTube, 41 crores of Facebook, 21 crores of Instagram, 1.75 crores of Twitter users.
Also rules for OTT and digital platforms
Modi government will also bring legislation to regulate OTT platform.
India's Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said, "There will be a three-tier mechanism for the OTT platform. OTT platforms and digital media will have to provide information about themselves, and they will have to create a grievance redressal mechanism.
According to Javadekar, the government had earlier met OTT companies and asked them to create a self-regulation but they could not do so.
OTT and digital news platforms will have to provide their details as they work from where the new rules come. Apart from this, a portal will have to be created for redressal of grievances.
Javadekar said that like TV and print, a regulatory body will be created for digital, which can be headed by a retired judge or eminent person.
He said, "Just as an apology is made on TV for making a mistake, the same has to be done for digital."
Apart from this, the content will have to be classified according to age and will have to provide parental lock.
He said that where immediate action is required, a monitoring mechanism will be created at the government level for such cases.
In the US capital Washington, many people are in awe of the kind of incidents which have been seen in the past. But those monitoring the online activities of ultra-right groups and conspirators had foreseen such a crisis.
On the very day Donald Trump was announced on the stage of the East Room of the White House, the day the votes were cast for the US presidency. He had said, "We are preparing to win this election.'' Clearly, we have won this election.
His address came an hour after his own tweet. He tweeted an hour ago, "They are trying to steal the election results."
Although he did not win the election. There was no victory that someone would try to steal. But the facts did not matter to his overzealous supporters and still do not.
After 65 days in America, a group of rioters destroyed the capital building of America on 06 January 2021. These rioters included a wide range of people, groups of extremist right-wing, online trolls and Donald Trump pro-Qinon people who believe that the world is being run by a group of pedophiles and Trump will teach everyone a lesson. These people also included members of 'Stop the Steel', a group of Trump supporters accused of rigging the election.
Nearly 48 hours after the riots in Washington's Capitol House (on January 08, 2021), Twitter began shutting down some of Trump's influential accounts, these accounts that were constantly promoting conspiracies and reversing election results. Were inciting people to take direct action. Not only this, Twitter also banned President Donald Trump's account after this. The reason behind banning Trump's account with more than 88 million followers is that his tweet threatens to create more violence.
The world is shocked by the violence in Washington and it seems that police and officers are nowhere in America. But it is not surprising for those who saw the link of this incident online and in the streets of American cities.
Election results can be affected, Donald Trump was saying this through his speeches and tweets months before the vote was cast. Even on election day, when the Americans started voting, the era of rumors started.
The Republican Party's polling agent was not allowed entry into the Philadelphia polling station. The video prohibiting entry of this polling agent went viral. This was due to a mistake in understanding the rules. Later this man was allowed to enter the polling station.
But it was included in the initial videos which went viral for several days. Along with this, a new hashtag '# Stop the Steel' was raised through other videos, photographs and graphics that the vote has to be rigged. The message of this hashtag was clear that Trump had won by a huge vote, but the powers in the power establishment were stealing the victory from him.
On Wednesday (November 4, 2020) in the early hours of the day when counting of votes was in progress and TV networks were three days behind the announcement of Joe Biden's victory, President Trump was accused of claiming victory. That the American public is being deceived. However, he did not provide any evidence in favor of his claim. However, it is clear from a study of earlier elections in the US that any disturbance in the counting of votes there is absolutely impossible.
By midday on November 4, 2020, a Facebook group called 'Stop the Steel' was formed which proved to be the fastest growing group in the history of Facebook. By the morning of November 5, 2020, more than three lakh people had joined the group.
Most of the posts alleged without any evidence that mass counting was being rigged, it was also said that thousands of people who have died have been cast. It was also alleged that the vote counting machine was designed in such a way that it was counting Trump's votes in Biden's votes.
But some posts were really more worrying, in these posts civil war and revolution were being described as essential. By the afternoon of November 5, 2020, Facebook removed the 'Stop the Steel' page, but by then the page had received over five million comments, likes and reactions. By the time this page was removed, dozens of such groups were ready.
The talk of stealing Trump's vote was spreading online. Soon, a website dedicated to 'Stop the Steel' was launched in the name of protecting votes. On Saturday, November 7, 2020, leading news networks declared Joe Biden the winner of the election. People in the stronghold of Democrats took to the streets to celebrate. But online reactions from Trump's overzealous supporters were displeasing and challenging the outcome.
These people proposed a rally in Washington DC on Saturday, November 7, 2020 as the Million Make America Great Again March. Trump also tweeted that he could try to stop it through the demonstration. Not many people had gathered at Trump supporter rallies earlier in Washington, but thousands gathered at Freedom Plaza on Saturday (November 7, 2020).
An extremist researcher called the rally crowd the start of a revolt by Trump supporters. When the convoy of trump vehicles passed through the city, the supporters vied for a glimpse of them. Trump was seen in front of supporters wearing the cap of 'Make America Great Again'.
The rally included members of the ultra-right group, anti-migrants, and members of the men's group Proud Boys who were carrying out violence in the streets and later entering the American Capitol Building. It was attended by the army, right-wing media and many people who advocated conspiracy theories.
As the night progressed, violent clashes broke out among Trump supporters and their opponents, in which an incident occurred five blocks away from the White House. Although the police was also involved in these violence, but it could be predicted from the days to come.
By now, President Trump and his legal team had set their hopes on dozens of legal cases. Although many courts have rejected allegations of rigging in the election, Trump's supporters online world, Trump's two lawyers Sidney Powell and L. Lynn Wood's expectations were tied up.
Sidney Powell and Lynn Wood had assured that they would prepare the rigging case in such an elaborate manner that Biden's declarations of electoral victory would come out as soon as the case came to light.
Powell is a Conservative Activist and a former Government Advocate. Powell told Fox News that attempts were being made to release Kraken. The mention of the Kraken comes in Scandavian folklore as a giant sea monster who sets out to eat his enemies.
After this statement, all kinds of mimes started appearing on the Internet about the Kraken, through which all the election rigging was being repeated without any proof. Powell and Wood emerged as a hero between Trump supporters and QNOn Conspiracy Theory supporters.
Those who believe in the QNOn Conspiracy Theory believe that Trump and his secret army are fighting against the Democratic Party, the media, business houses and pedophiles in Hollywood. The two lawyers became a bridge between the president and his conspirators. Most of these supporters were involved in the violence in the Capitol Building on 6 January 2021.
Powell and Wood managed to capitalize on the outrage of Trump supporters online, but legally both were unable to do anything special. Both of them prepared a 200-page charge sheet by the end of November 2020, but most of them were based on the Conspiracy Theory and this automatically rejected the charges which had been dismissed in court dozens of times. Not only this, along with the mistakes of the law, spelling mistakes and typing mistakes were also seen in this document.
But its discussion continued in the online world. Before the violence in the Capitol Building, 'Kraken' and 'Release the Kraken' had been used more than a million times on Twitter only.
When the court rejected Trump's legal appeal, extremist rightists began to target election personnel and officials. A Georgia election worker was threatened with death. Republican officials from the province, including Governor Brian Camp, Secretary-of-State Brad Rafsperger and Gabriel Sterling, in charge of the province's electoral system, came to be called online traitors.
Sterling issued a warning on December 1, 2020 about emotional and future fears. He said, "Somebody is going to get hurt, somebody is going to be shot, somebody is going to die and this is not right."
In early December 2020, Jacqueline Benson, Michigan's Secretary of State, was grooming a Christmas tree at her home in Detroit with her four-year-old son when she heard a commotion outside. Around 30 protesters were shouting 'Stop the steel' on the megaphone with a banner poster outside their house. One protester shouted, "Benson you are the villain." Another one said, "You are a threat to democracy." One protester was doing live on Facebook, saying that his group was here Is not going to be removed from
This example illustrates how the protesters were treating people associated with the voting process. Trump supporters in Georgia continued to drive with the Horns outside Rafensparger's home. His wife received threats of sexual violence.
Demonstrators in Arizona gathered outside the home of Katy Hobbs, the province minister of state (Democrat). These protesters were constantly saying, "We are watching you."
On 11 December 2020, the US Supreme Court quashed an attempt to dismiss the election results for the province of Texas.
As legal and political doors were closing in front of Trump, Trump supporters were becoming violent on online platforms. On 12 December 2020, the second rally of 'Stop the Steel' was held in Washington DC. Once again thousands of supporters gathered in this rally. It also included people from extreme right wing people, Make America Great Again and those involved in military movements.
Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn compared these protesters to biblical soldiers and priests who toppled Jericho's wall. The rally called for the 'Jericho March' to change the electoral outcome. Nick Fuenets, leader of the extremist right-wing movement Grow Purse, who described the Republican Party as moderate, told these protesters, "We are going to destroy the Republican Party."
Violence erupted during this rally as well.
Two days later (on 14 December 2020) Electrol College sealed Biden's victory. This is also one of the important steps required for the US President to take over.
On online platforms, Trump supporters began to see that all the legal avenues had been closed, so they felt that direct action was the only option to save Trump. After the election, Flynn, Powell and Wood, apart from Trump supporters, managed to rapidly place another person online.
Ron Watkins, the son of Jim Watkins, a US businessman and promoter of Imageboard 8Chan and 8Kun, emerged as a supporter of Trump on online platforms. In tweets that went viral on 17 December 2020, Ron Watkins advised Donald Trump that he should take the path of the Roman Empire Julius Caesar and use the military's loyalty to restore democracy.
Ron Watkins encouraged more than half a million followers to make Cross the Robican a tweeter trend. Julius Caesar started the war by crossing the Robikan River in 49 BCE. This hashtag was also used by mainstream people. It also included Republican Party leader Callie Ward in Arizona. In another tweet, Ron Watkins suggested to Trump that he should use the sedition law under which the military and other police forces are empowered after the president.
On 18 December 2020, Trump held a strategic meeting with Powell, Flynn and others at the White House. According to the New York Times, during this meeting, Flynn suggested Trump hold re-election under the military by applying martial law. After this meeting, negotiations started again between war and revolution in right-wing groups in the online world. Many came to see the joint session of the US Congress on January 6, 2021, which is a formality. But Trump supporters also expected Vice President Mike Pence.
Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to preside over the January 6, 2021 event, with Trump supporters hoping Mike Pence would ignore the Electrol College votes. It was being said in the mutual discussion of these people that after that, the President will deploy the army to deal with any kind of rebellion and will order the arrest on the large scale of the election riggers and sent them to the army prison of Guantenamo Bay. Will go. But all this was happening among the Trump supporters in the online world, it seemed impossible to be on the ground truth. But Trump supporters turned it into an agitation and thousands of people reached Washington on January 6, 2021, traveling together from across the country.
A long convoy of vehicles carrying trumped flags had reached the city. Pictures of the convoy of vehicles from cities such as Louisville, Kentucky, Atlanta, Georgia and Sacramento were also seen on social platforms. "We are on the way," one person tweeted, posting a picture with about two dozen supporters. A man in the Ikea parking lot of North Carolina wrote with a picture of his truck, "The flag is a little dilapidated but we Calling it a battleground.''
But it was clear that Pence and the other important leaders of the Republican Party would act according to the law and allow Biden's victory to be approved by Congress. In such a situation, poison was also spewed against these people. Wood tweeted for him, "Pence will face trial for treason and be in jail. He will be hanged by the firing squad.'' There was growing resentment in online discussions among Trump supporters. People started talking about guns, war and violence.
Such things were present in other places besides social platforms like Gab and Parlor popular with Trump supporters. At first the members of the Proud Boys were writing against the police force and later against the officers as they realized that the support of the officers was no longer available.
The website 'The Donald' which is popular among Trump supporters. On this website, Trump supporters were openly discussing the breaking of police barricades, possession of guns and other weapons, violations of Washington's strict laws regarding guns. Nonsense was being talked about on this website till the uproar in the Capitol Building and the arrest of 'traitor' members of Congress.
On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, Trump addressed a crowd of thousands at Ellips Park, south of the White House, for more than an hour. He said in the beginning of his address that if you talk peacefully and patriotically, he will be heard. But coming to an end, he said with a warning tone, "We have to fight with all the power, if we do not fight with the full power, you will lose your country." So we are going. We are going to Pennsylvania Avenue and we are going to the Capital Building. ''
According to some analysts, the fear of violence in those days was quite clear. Michael Chertoff, who was the interior security minister during the tenure of former US President George W. Bush, blames the Capitol Police for the violence that day. The Capitol Police had also turned down an offer to help the National Guard.
Michael calls it the biggest failure of the Capitol Police, saying, "As far as I can think, what else would be a big failure." During this time, the possibility of violence was already known. Frankly speaking, it was also natural. If you read the newspaper, you are aware that in this rally there were people who believed in the rigging of the election, some were extremists, some were violent. People had openly appealed to bring guns.
Even after all this, Americans like James Clarke, a 68-year-old Republican supporter of Virginia, are amazed at the January 6, 2021 incident. "It was very sad," he told the BBC. I didn't think anything like this would happen.''
But the possibility of such violence remained for several weeks. Extremist and conspiratorial groups believed the electoral outcome was stolen. In the online world these people were constantly talking about weapons and violence together. It may be that the police officers have not taken the posts of these people seriously or have not found them suitable for investigation. But now the accountable officials will have to face the stinging questions.
Joe Biden will be sworn in as US President on 20 January 2021. Mike Chertoff is expecting the security force to deploy far more efficiently than on 06 January 2021. However, violence and obstruction is still being said on social media platforms. In the midst of all this, questions are also being raised on social media platforms that why did these people allow the Conspiracy Theory to reach millions?
Following the violence of six January 2021, on 08 January 2021, Twitter deleted accounts of Trump's former advisors Flynn, Kraken Theory lawyers Powell and Wood and Watkins. After this, Trump's account has also been closed.
The arrest of people committing violence in the Capitol Building continues. However, most of the rioters are still present in their parallel world where they are creating facts according to their convenience. Following the violence on 6 January 2021, Donald Trump issued a video statement in which he acknowledged for the first time that the new administration would take over on 20 January 2021.
Trump supporters are still giving new explanations after watching this video. They are comforting themselves that Trump should not give up easily, he should struggle. Not only this, there is also a theory of Trump supporters that this video is not only about Trump, it is a computer generated fake video. Trump supporters are also apprehensive that Trump has been taken hostage. However, many fans of Trump are still confident that Trump will remain President.
There is no evidence of any of these things, but it does prove one thing. Whatever Donald Trump's, the people who committed violence in the American Capitol Building are not going to calm down in the coming days, it is certain.
The CBI has filed a charge sheet on 18 December 2020 in the gang rape and murder case of a Dalit girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, India.
The CBI officials have also imposed sections of gangrape and murder on the four accused, Sandeep, Lavkush, Ravi and Ramu, for the crime committed with a 19-year-old Dalit girl.
According to the news agency PTI, the counsel for the accused told that the local court of Hathras has taken cognizance of the case.
The CBI was investigating the case under the supervision of the Allahabad High Court and CBI officials probed the role of accused Sandeep, Lavkush, Ravi and Ramu in the entire case.
The four accused are currently in judicial custody. CBI officials said the four were also subjected to separate tests at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Apart from this, the CBI investigation team also talked to the doctors of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. This is the same hospital where the deceased was treated.
The Hathras gang rape case came up for discussion not only because of the barbarity of the criminals, but also in the Uttar Pradesh police, without the permission of the family of the deceased and there was a dispute over the funeral of the girl in his absence.
In addition to the Uttar Pradesh police, the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh was also severely criticized in this case.
Later, the Uttar Pradesh government had told the court that the girl was cremated in a hurry due to fear of deteriorating the situation of justice in the area.
The 19-year-old girl belonged to a Dalit family while the four accused belong to the upper caste.
In this whole case, the confusion of caste-system prevailing in Uttar Pradesh was also revealed when Mahapanchayat was called in some villages in favor of the accused.
Not only this, questions were also raised about the girl being gang raped. In addition, the Uttar Pradesh government had for some time banned the media's entry into the victim's village.
In this case, the Uttar Pradesh government had talked about getting narco test of the family of the victim, which was also disputed because the narco test is usually from the accused party.
A Special Investigation Committee (SIT) was finally formed after allegations of lewd attitude on the Uttar Pradesh government and administration. However, the investigation was later handed over to the CBI.
The government of Turkish President Richap Tayyip Ardoan, who has made a strong commentary on Israel at the international level and talked about the rights of the Palestinians, has announced a sudden resumption of diplomatic relations with Israel, which has almost ended two years.
Turkey appointed its ambassador to Israel on 15 December 2020. In 2018, Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Tel Aviv in protest against Israel's violent actions against Palestinian protesters in Gaza.
These demonstrations were against US President Donald Trump's decision to send the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Turkish leader Ardoan has called Israel a 'murderer and murderer of children', but now he is sending his ambassador to Israel. To understand the meaning of this decision, it is necessary to understand the recent developments and the long historical relationship between Israel and Turkey.
Turkey's decision to deploy its ambassador came on 15 December 2020 when on 14 December 2020, the US imposed trade sanctions on Turkey.
After purchasing the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, the US halted several plans, including selling its F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey in early 2020, and Turkey's aviator training program.
Despite US pressure, Turkey refused to back down the purchase of the Russian missile system. Now on the go, the Trump administration has imposed new restrictions on Turkey.
It is worth noting that Turkey is also an important member of NATO, the defense alliance of America and Europe.
New factionalism and 'geo-strategic' changes are taking place in the Middle East at a time when the entire world is historically battling the Corona virus epidemic.
Economic difficulties are increasing in countries all over the world and Arab countries have a difficult time as their dependence on oil has decreased due to which their economic burden has increased.
Arab countries are discovering their new economic prospects by reviewing their traditional policies due to economic stability.
At the same time, political change is also coming in America and the administration of the new President Joe Biden is going to take over from 20 January 2021.
Fluctuations in Turkey and Israel relations
Palestine has always remained a focal point in relations between Turkey and Israel. Three times in the past, Turkey has tried to bring down or end its diplomatic relations with Israel and each time Palestine has been at its center.
Turkey first cut its diplomatic ties in 1956, when Israel was attacked in the Sinai Desert after the support of Britain and France on the Suez Canal issue.
This was followed by a secret meeting between the then Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gorian and Turkish Chief Adnan Menderes in 1958 and the two countries agreed to establish defense and intelligence cooperation.
When Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1980, Turkey again reduced its diplomatic relations with it. During this period diplomatic relations between the two countries remained cold but relations between the two countries were restored after the Oslo peace deal in the 90s.
During this time, the relationship between the two countries, which was also called the 'marriage of coercion', continued without any confusion and during this time there were many agreements of cooperation in mutual trade and defense.
In January 2000, Israel entered into an agreement to buy water from Turkey, but the agreement did not last long. This was followed by several defense agreements between the two countries, including giving drones and surveillance equipment to Turkey.
The main reason for the formation of relations in the defense sector - Turkey's defense needs and finding buyers to sell their goods to Israel.
In Turkey in November 2002, relations between the two countries began a new turning point when Rechap Tayyip Ardoan's right-wing Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power. In 2005, Ardoan also visited Israel and offered a visit to Turkey to then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The situation took another turn in December 2008, and three days after Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Perez visited Ankara, Israel started climbing in Gaza under the name 'Operation Cast Led'.
Ardoan, who had sympathy with Hamas, was severely shocked by this action by Israel and called it 'clearly deceived'.
In 2010, the Mavi Marmara incident occurred during the siege of the Israeli army in Gaza. Mavi Marmara was carrying humanitarian aid from a Turkish human rights organization, which was attacked by the Israeli army. 10 Ottoman civilians were killed in this incident.
After this incident, the relationship between the two countries ended.
American try
The US continued efforts to reduce tensions and restore diplomatic relations between its two friendly countries in the region.
For this, Ardoan put forward three conditions, including conditions such as apologizing for the attack on Mavi Marmara, compensation for the casualties and ending the siege of Gaza.
The biggest condition for Israel was to apologize, and Israel was also demanding Turkey to expel some Hamas leaders from the country.
As part of US efforts, in 2013, then President Barack Obama held a phone conversation between Ardoan and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. During a telephone conversation, Netanyahu agreed to apologize and pay compensation for the casualties.
Despite this, frequent incidents in the region led to a delay in normalizing relations between the two countries and finally in 2016, diplomatic relations could be restored between the two countries.
The US has banned its NATO ally Turkey for the deployment of missile defense systems built in Russia. Turkey acquired this missile defense system from Russia in 2019 itself.
The US says that Russia's ground-to-air missile system S-400 does not meet NATO's technical parameters in any way. The S-400 is a threat to the Euro-Atlantic alliance.
The US State Department announced these restrictions on 14 December 2020, which would affect Turkey's arms purchases.
These sanctions have been criticized by Russia and Turkey immediately after the announcement of US sanctions.
The US has already dropped Turkey out of the F-35 fighter jet program on the issue of procurement of missile systems made in Russia.
What does America object to?
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement saying, "The United States has made it clear to Turkey on several occasions that the purchase of the S-400 system would put American military technology and the military at risk." This will provide a large amount of money to Russia's defense industry and increase Russia's access to the Turkish armed forces and its defense industry.''
Mike Pompio continued, "Despite this, Turkey decided to move ahead with the purchase and testing of the S-400 system when there were alternatives." This would have also served Turkey's defense needs.''
He said, "I appeal to Turkey to resolve the S-400 issue with the US and resolve it immediately." Turkey is an important regional security partner for the United States. Turkey should remove the bottleneck of the S-400 system as soon as possible and continue our decades-old defense cooperation.''
Ismail Demir and three other employees of the Directorate of Defense Industries have come under the US ban on Turkey. Under this ban, export licenses issued from the US have been banned, as well as Turkish assets in US juridiction have been frozen.
What does Turkey say?
On the other hand, Turkey's Foreign Ministry has "appealed to the US to reconsider its partisan decision".
Turkey has also said that it is ready to find a solution to this issue by way of diplomatic dialogue in accordance with the spirit of the alliance.
The statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry also said that "the US embargo will have a negative impact on our relations" and Turkey will avenge it in time.
Turkey says the US refused to sell it the Patriot missile, after which it bought the S-400 system from Russia.
Turkish officials also say that NATO's other partner, Greece, has its own S-300 system, although it has not bought it directly from Russia.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized the US ban, saying that it reflects "a hostile attitude towards international law".
Sergei Lavrov said that the United States has been taking such unilateral and illegal repressive actions.
How important is turkey?
Turkey has the second largest army in NATO, a military alliance of thirty countries.
He is an important partner of the US and has strategic importance due to the border with Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Turkey has also played an important role in the Syrian conflict. It has provided military and weapons support to some of Syria's rebel groups.
However, Turkey's relations with NATO and some EU member states have deteriorated in recent times. These countries allege that Turkish President Rechep Tayyip Ardoan is acting in an arbitrary manner following the failed coup of 2016.
How does the S-400 work?
A radar capable of long range surveillance monitors the objects and sends its information to the command vehicle where the potential target is assessed.
After the target is identified, the command vehicle commands a missile launch.
The data attached to it is sent to the launch vehicle and from there the ground-to-air missile is fired.
The radar helps the missile reach its target.
In an interview to Iran's state media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Russia stands with Iran in the case of killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh.
He said that Russia agreed that he was murdered for the purpose of creating unrest in the region.
Sergei Lavrov described Iran and Russia as "two important countries" playing an important role in the "New World Order of the World".
Iran's state-run TV network One (IRTV1) has translated Lavrov's words of Russian into Persian, saying he said, "We condemn the killing of scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh." We see this as an inciting terrorist act and an attempt to create unrest in the region. It is also an issue of interference of foreign governments.''
He also referred to the assassination of Lt Gen Qasim Sulemani on 3 January 2020 and said "it is unacceptable for any country".
Quds Force chief General Qasim Suleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq. The United States had declared him and his Quds Force as terrorists, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American citizens.
At one point in the interview, he emphasizes the point of cooperation between Iran and Russia. He says, "The level of our mutual cooperation with Iran is not with any country." Even during the Corona epidemic, our mutual trade has increased, not decreased.''
He also told that trade with Iran increased by 20 percent in 2019 and during the pandemic it has increased by eight percent.
He asserted that the trade agreements between Iran and Eurasia in 2019 provided opportunities for a larger market for Iran.
Sergei Lavrov criticized the US for withdrawing from the nuclear deal in 2015, as well as emphasizing the importance of removing the dollar in free trade.
Iran's banking sector is restricted and because of this, it cannot use the dollar in trade with foreign countries.
The country's top nuclear scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh was killed in an ambush by gunmen in the city of Absard, adjacent to Iran's capital Tehran. Iran's leaders have blamed Israel for the killing and said it will be avenged.
There has been a public outcry over debt payments between Maldives and China. There have always been concerns about China's debt in the Maldives, but the bickering hit the public stage last week.
The saying took place on Twitter between former President of Maldives and current parliament speaker Mohammad Nasheed and Chinese Ambassador to Maldives Chang Lichong.
Nasheed tweeted on 11 December 2020 that in the next two weeks, Maldives has to pay huge debt to Chinese banks.
His claim in this tweet was rejected by the Chinese Ambassador. The Chinese ambassador said that Maldives has to pay the debt but the amount is not as big as Nasheed claims.
Mohammad Nasheed is considered the most popular leader of the Maldives. He is also called pro-India.
Nasheed had said in his tweet, "In the next 14 days, Maldives has to pay $ 15 million somehow to the Chinese bank. Chinese banks have not given us any leeway in these loans. These payments are equal to 50 percent of the government's total income. Maldives is trying to recover somehow in the midst of the Corona epidemic crisis.''
Within two hours, the Chinese ambassador dismissed Nasheed's claims on Twitter. Chang Lichong said in response to Nasheed's tweet, "According to the information I have received from the banks, there is no loan payment of $ 15 million in the next 14 days. You check the account book and save it for the budget. Cheers.''
On 12 December 2020, the Chinese ambassador tweeted, "I have done some homework." The payment of debt of 17 lakh 19 thousand 535 in 2020 is correct. In Hulhumale Housing Project Phase 2, the loan amount of 23 lakh 75 thousand dollars taken for 1530 housing units is from a third country bank and not from China Development Bank. The debt in the Stelco project is to be paid in the second week of January 2021.'' The Chinese ambassador also posted some documents with this tweet.
In response to the Chinese Ambassador's tweet, a Twitter user quoted the Maldivian Ministry of Finance's statement as of December 31, 2018, "According to the annual report 2018, the Housing Development Corporation of Maldives set up 1530 housing units in Hulhumale Phase 3. For $ 4.2 million loaned from China Development Bank. If it comes to repaying this loan, then you will be able to show this screenshot, right?''
There was no response from the Chinese Ambassador on this. In such a situation, Mohammad Nasheed took it as an opportunity and tried to handle the situation.
Nasheed told the Chinese ambassador in his next tweet, "Thank you very much." Our relationship with China matters. Why should we wait for 11 more hours? Find some way out of this debt problem. Maldives needs another two years to repay the loan, otherwise we will never be able to repay these debts.''
Responding to Nasheed, the Chinese Ambassador wrote, "Respected Speaker, I appreciate your support. We have traditionally been friends and this is important to us. Discussions are already taking place on these issues. I am confident that there will be some concrete arrangement in terms of mutual benefit in both the countries so that it will help in bringing the economy back on track.''
Maldives and China have also clashed on Twitter before.
The current Chinese ambassador to the Maldives is known for his attendant response. The result of this is that their fans in Maldives are also very good.
In particular, supporters of former Maldives President Abdulla Yameen openly support the Chinese ambassador. After coming to power in 2013, Yameen grew closer to China than India. In many contract contracts, President Yameen chose China over India.
Yameen's supporters feel that China's ambassador is no less than an assistant to him in fighting the current government in the Maldives. The current government of Maldives is called pro-India.
In November 2020, Nasheed said that the debt of China cannot be repaid even if the people of Maldives sell their grandmother's jewelry too. In response, the Chinese ambassador said, "The jewelry of grannies is priceless but they have a price." I would prioritize friendship with Maldives which has no value.''
Another similar incident happened in November 2020. Dunya Maumoon, the daughter of former Maldives President Abdul Gayoom, was asked about an article in India Today on 10 November 2020. In this article, many things were said about Chinese investment in Male Airport.
The same day the Chinese ambassador told the daughter of former President Gayoom, "Read it as a fantasy." If you want the right information, take it from Maldives Airport.'' Gayoom was also considered as a Chinese-backed president.
Mohammad Nasheed said in an interview to the BBC in September 2020 that the Maldives had borrowed $ 3.1 billion from China. Nasheed had said that this included loans from both the Chinese government and the private sector there.
When the Maldivian Democratic Party of Nasheed came to power in 2018, Indian officials estimated the debt to be $ 1.5 billion.
Nasheed's party has been seeking financial help from India ever since it was formed. India has announced financial assistance of $ 1.4 billion to Maldives.
China and India are the centers of Maldives politics
Discussions in Maldives about China and India are hot in politics there. In September 2020, India Out campaign was being run on social media in Maldives.
Mohammad Nasheed then said that the India out campaign belonged to the ISIS cell. Nasheed had said that under this campaign, there is a demand to remove Indian soldiers from Maldives. The main opposition party was airing the India out campaign in Maldives. The main opposition party of Maldives says that the presence of Indian soldiers is against sovereignty and independence.
In response to the anti-India talk of the opposition party in Maldives, Foreign Minister Abdullah said that those who are "not digesting" the strong bilateral relations, are resorting to such criticism.
At the inauguration of an India-backed street lighting scheme, the foreign minister said, "This is a relationship between the two countries." It is a relationship connecting hearts. We thank him.
In August 2020, India announced a $ 500 million package, including a grant of $ 100 million. Earlier in 2018, India announced $ 800 million for the Maldives.
Prince Turkey al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia has strongly criticized Israel at the Bahrain Security Summit held on 6 December 2020.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi joined it online. This development has presented challenges in the way of any further dialogue between Arab countries and Israel.
According to the news agency AP, Israel has been surprised by the strong remarks of Prince Turkey al-Faisal in the Manama Dialogue because the Israeli Foreign Minister did not expect this to happen.
Especially when the Israelis were warmly welcomed by the authorities of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates following agreements that normalized relations.
There has been controversy and conflict between Israel and the Palestinians for decades. The Palestinians think that these agreements are a betrayal of them and are as if their Arab comrades have stabbed them in the back.
Prince Turkey al-Faisal began his talk by describing the notion of 'a nation of Israel's peace-loving and high moral values' as a far more dark Palestinian reality under 'Western colonial power'.
Prince Turkey al-Faisal said that "Israel held the Palestinians in captivity, citing security reasons where the elderly, men and women are rotting in a way without any justice." They are demolishing homes and killing anyone they want.''
Prince Turkey al-Faisal also condemned "Israel's undeclared stockpile of nuclear weapons and the Israeli government's attempts to weaken Saudi Arabia".
Prince Turkey al-Faisal reiterated Saudi Arabia's official stand that the solution to the problem lies in implementing the 'Arab Peace Initiative'.
In the Saudi Arabia-sponsored 'Arab Peace Initiative' agreement in 2002, in 1967, in exchange for all kinds of relations with Arab countries of Israel, the territory occupied by Israel was sought to be given the status of Palestinian country.
He said, "You cannot cure open wound with painkillers".
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said immediately after the talk by Prince Turkey al-Faisal, "I would like to express my regret on the remarks of the Saudi delegates." I don't think that the words and changes that are happening in his words are seen in the Middle East.''
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi reiterated the Israeli stand, saying that "Palestinians are responsible for the lack of a peace settlement". We have a choice about the Palestinians whether we solve it or not or just keep on accusing them.''
Dor Gould, a former ambassador to the United Nations and Netanyahu's close-knit Dorn Gould, who was watching the Bahrain Security Summit, said on the remarks of Prince Turkey al-Faisal that many false allegations have been made in the past.
Prince Turki al-Faisal also attacked them.
Saudi vs israel
Saudi Arabia has historically been critical of the treatment of Israel and its Palestinians, and the Arab media has been dismissing Israel as a 'Jewish country'.
In the remote and rural areas of Saudi Arabia, people have seen not only Israel but all the Jewish people as their enemies.
However, many misleading theories about Jews no longer appear. One reason for this is that Saudi people spend a lot of time on the Internet and because of this, they are very aware of the things going on in the world.
Despite this, there is still a doubt about outsiders in a section of the Saudi population. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries have a bizarre history of relations with Palestine.
The Gulf countries have generally been supportive of the Palestinian issue. For decades, they have been helping Palestine politically and financially. However, when Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat supported Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990, he found it a major fraud.
After Operation Desert Storm, led by the United States and independent in 1991, Kuwait drove out the entire population of Palestinians present in its place and was replaced by thousands of Egyptians.
The old rulers of this region have taken a long time to forget the deception of Arafat.
India has rejected the proposal passed in the meeting of foreign ministers of member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an organization of Islamic countries. Kashmir has also been mentioned in this proposal.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated that India's reference in the resolution passed in the OIC is factually incorrect, unreasonable and inappropriate.
There was a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the OIC on 27 and 28 November 2020 in Niamey, the capital of Niger, and Kashmir is also mentioned in the resolution passed in this meeting.
Pakistan is also a member of the OIC. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi attended the meeting and raised the issue of Kashmir loudly.
Pakistan is happy with the mention of Kashmir in the resolution passed in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the OIC. This proposal is being called Niamey Declaration and Pakistan has welcomed it.
India ended Kashmir's special status on August 5, 2019. Since then Pakistan has been raising this issue on the international stage but so far there has been no concrete success. OIC has also not been very active about this till now.
Regarding the proposal passed in the CFM of OIC, India's Foreign Ministry has said in its statement, "We are factually incorrect, inappropriate and unreasonably passed in the OIC's 47th CFM in Niger's capital Niamey, India. Let's dismiss the mention of We have always said that the OIC has no right to speak on India's internal affairs. Jammu and Kashmir is also an integral part of India and the OIC has no right to speak on it.''
India has said in its statement, "It is regrettable that the OIC is allowing any one country to misuse its platform." The country that the OIC is allowing to do so has a disgusting record of religious tolerance, extremism and injustice with minorities. That country is always engaged in anti-India propaganda. We are seriously advising the OIC to refrain from saying such a thing about India in future.''
Kashmir has also been included in the resolution passed at the meeting of foreign ministers of the OIC member countries in Niamey.
However, Kashmir was not included in the OIC's CFM agenda. It is being said that due to the stubbornness of Pakistan, it has been included only. The resolution said that the OIC's stand on the Kashmir dispute has always been that it should be resolved peacefully as per the UN Security Council resolution.
However, it is also being said that the mention of Kashmir in the proposal of OIC is a ritual and it is not surprising for India. Despite the pressure from Pakistan, Kashmir was not included as a separate agenda in this meeting.
The OIC is dominated by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Pakistan's relations with these two countries are deteriorating. Saudi Arabia wants Pakistan to pay its debts quickly. Especially since when Pakistani PM Imran Khan tried to create an organization with Turkey, Iran and Malaysia parallel to the OIC. Last week, the UAE temporarily banned the issuance of new visas for Pakistani nationals.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also raised the issue separately in the OIC meeting with the UAE Foreign Minister but no concrete assurance has been received so far.
Is Kashmir a victory in the Niamey Declaration?
This meeting was held in Abu Dhabi in March 2019. In this meeting, the then Foreign Minister of India Sushma Swaraj was also called by the UAE.
Pakistan had opposed the calling of Sushma Swaraj and boycotted the inauguration ceremony. Sushma Swaraj then addressed the CFM meeting of the OIC.
There was no mention of Kashmir in the resolution passed in this meeting. It welcomed the decision of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in which he sent back Wing Commander Abhinandan of India.
Kashmir is nothing new in the proposal that comes after the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of OIC. It has been mentioned before also. This time the proposal is being called Niame Declaration. Its operative paragraph eight states that the OIC wants the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute to be peaceful as per the UN Security Council resolution and it has always been the same.
This was the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the OIC after the end of special status of Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019. Pakistan hoped that this time a strong statement would be issued against India, but this did not happen.
Pakistan's Ambassador to India Abdul Basit has posted a video on Twitter and he has said many things about Niamey Declaration.
Basit has said, "This was the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the OIC after August 5 and we were hopeful that some strong statement about India would be issued." We felt that India's decision would be condemned but it did not happen. There is nothing very happy for Pakistan in the Declaration.
He said, "The way Kashmir is concerned about Palestine, Azerbaijan and terrorism in this Declaration does not belong to Kashmir. Compared to last year, we can be happy that this time, at least it has been mentioned. India should have condemned what it did on August 5, but it did not happen. Niger has good relations with India and the convention center in which this conference took place is made with the help of India only.
The Maldives is also a member of the OIC. Maldives Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid attended the meeting. Abdullah posted a tweet on November 27, 2020 in which pictures of that conference center in Niamey were posted. With these pictures, Abdullah wrote in his tweet, "OIC's 47th CFM meeting is being held at the beautiful Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Center in Niamey. When the world is facing many challenges and crises, these can be faced together. ''
However, Pakistan is considering its victory with the mention of Kashmir. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has tweeted, "The inclusion of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in the Niamey Declaration suggests that the OIC has always stood by the Kashmir issue."
Ever since India abolished the special status of Kashmir, Pakistan has been calling for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the OIC member countries but to no avail.
In August 2020, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had threatened to withdraw from the OIC and raise the Kashmir issue. This angered Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had to issue an explanation. But by then the situation had deteriorated and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had to visit Saudi to handle it.