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Xi, Modi Vow To Defeat 'Radicalization' Amid Dispute Over Kashmir

The leaders of China and India vowed during an informal summit to cooperate against "radicalization" at a time of rising tensions over Beijing's support for Pakistan in its dispute with India over the divided region of Kashmir.

China has criticized New Delhi's move to revoke the special status of the Indian-administered portion of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both.

The August 5 revocation means that India's Jammu and Kashmir will be largely run by the central government as territorial autonomy has largely vanished. Both states will become a union territory and the third state of Ladakh -- part of which is claimed by Beijing -- will become a union territory.

Despite that dispute, the leaders acknowledged a common challenge, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.

"Both leaders said that these were large countries and that radicalization was a matter of concern to both, and that both would work together to see that radicalization and terrorism did not affect the fabric of our multicultural, multiethnic, multireligious societies," Gokhale told reporters..

Xi held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Beijing just two days before the meeting Modi.

Xi said he supports Pakistan's "legitimate rights" -- leading India's Foreign Ministry to respond by saying it was "not for other countries to comment on the internal affairs of India."

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The talks might prove embarrassing for Trump whose entire Middle East policy has been to capitalize on instability, indeed even contribute to it, in the vain of providing business and jobs to the US arms industry. But when talks get going between the Saudis and Iran, it might just become evident that in reality, Riyadh cares little about the so-called threat of Iran's nuclear or ballistic capabilities - which it will have whether it is a pariah state or not - but more about its abilities to eclipse Saudi Arabia in time with its geopolitical ambitions and business verve.

[...]

Nuclear energy in the entire region could be the way forward for both countries and the money that the Saudis would save on defence could be ploughed into state building, jobs, start ups and the new vision of a modern economy. Probably, MBS wants a way out of the Yemen war, which is face-saving as well.

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• The geo-politics of Turkey's incursion in Syria

Following earlier media reports of explosions near the town of Kobani, the Pentagon said US troops "came under artillery fire from Turkish positions at approximately 9 p.m. local Oct. 11" and that the explosions occurred "in an area known by the Turks to have US forces present."

The American soldiers were not withdrawn from the town, the statement noted, adding that Washington "remains opposed to the Turkish military move into Syria."

The US demands that Turkey avoid actions that could result in immediate defensive action.

Later on Friday night, the Associated Press reported an American outpost was abandoned after the shelling, citing US officials, but noted that a larger base in Kobani had not been evacuated or affected by the strike. The outpost would likely soon be reoccupied, the officials added.

"We can't wait. As Turkey, we will never stop this fight, no matter what anyone says," Erdogan declared on Friday. "The US and Europe both say we are killing Kurds. The Kurdish people are our brothers. Our struggle is against terror groups."

The strategic M4 highway in northeastern Syria is located about 19 miles (30km) south of the border with Turkey.

Spokesman Youssef Hammoud said that National Army fighters had captured 18 villages as part of the advance.

"This advance was on a new and surprise front... between Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain. On this front, they were able to cut the roads linking together Suluk, Tel Abyad, Ras al-Ain with the villages in the area," he said in a statement to Reuters.

Turkey claims that its forces took control of the town of Ras al-Ain, situated on the road, on Saturday. The SDF denies that it lost the town and says that there is still fighting in the area.

The loss of the roadway would be a major blow to the US-backed Kurdish forces that have been targeted by Turkey's Operation Peace Spring.

"On 11 October, an improvised shell-free explosive device was set off on the patrol route of the Russian military police in the province of Deraa in southern Syria, about 700 meters west of the village of Anhul. None of the Russian military personnel were injured", Maj. Gen. Alexey Bakin, head of the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation said at a daily news briefing.

The Russian centre for Syrian reconcilliation also stressed that "against the backdrop of Turkey's Operation Peace Spring in the northeast of Syria, illegal armed groups have intensified their activities in other regions of the Syrian Arab Republic".

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Ecuador protesters storm parliament building amid chaotic street demonstrations

© Reuters / Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Demonstrators gather outside Ecuador's parliament building in Quito during heated protests over austerity measures, October 8, 2019.

Scores of protesters could be seen inside the national assembly building in videos posted to social media on Tuesday, some waving flags at the chamber's podium, with others chanting slogans against President Lenin Moreno, who has come under fire over a series of spending cuts and other austerity moves linked to an IMF loan deal signed in March.

Though police were able to keep most protesters away from the parliament with thick clouds of tear gas, several dozen managed to break their way past security and enter the chamber, which was empty after authorities evacuated government buildings in the capital city on Monday. They held a brief demonstration before pulling back, after which police regained control of the building.

A substantial police presence was seen in the areas surrounding the national assembly, where security forces clashed with demonstrators wielding stones, sticks and other improvised weapons. The police - some on horseback, motorbike, or in armored vehicles - responded with tear gas and billy clubs.

A larger gathering of several thousand met near the parliament building, defying Moreno's national emergency decree, which banned public assembly and put restrictions on press freedoms. Many of the demonstrators come from poor and indigenous communities across Ecuador, where the spending cuts have taken the highest toll, particularly the elimination of fuel subsidies.

As people continue to stream into Quito to take part in the demonstrations, now in their sixth day, the protesters are gearing up for a general strike on Wednesday, hoping to compel the government to act on demands to reconsider the austerity measures. They had planned to confront the president and hold a dialogue at some point during the protests, but Moreno relocated the seat of government to Guayaquil and fled there late on Monday.

Public schools nationwide have been temporarily closed during the unrest, along with public transport in the capital city.

© Reuters / Ivan Alvarado

After seven consecutive days, the expression of discontent has burgeoned into a general strike. "This is absolute chaos," said RT correspondent Nicolas O'Donovan, reporting from outside the presidential palace, where "the air is heavy with tear gas [and] smoke."

Though President Lenin Moreno had reportedly fled south to the city of Guayaquil earlier this week, where he relocated the seat of Ecuador's government, O'Donovan said the president had returned to Quito to "monitor the situation on the ground" from an undisclosed location.

That situation has been one of "extreme tension," O'Donovan said, with protesters equipping themselves with bricks, stones and even petrol bombs against a heavily armed police force guarding the palace. The officers responded with clubs, stun grenades and copious amounts of tear gas.

The Red Cross has suspended all activities in the capital city over safety concerns, including ambulance services, with teams of volunteers providing improvised treatment to dozens of protesters injured in the clashes.

The demonstrators, many hailing from poor and indigenous communities around the country, reportedly plan to remain outside the palace until dusk, though O'Donovan said some will stay overnight, defying a curfew order issued earlier this week. They hope the days of rage will convince the government to come to the table for a dialogue and ultimately reverse the austerity measures, namely the elimination of fuel subsidies.

"The people here say that the government is going to save the banks and big business instead of the people, and that's why all these people are here protesting," O'Donovan said.

President Moreno has remained defiant in the face of the strike, insisting he will not back down from the recent economic reforms, though his aides confirmed they were participating in preliminary talks with the protest leaders, mediated by the United Nations and the Catholic Church.