Image used for representation purpose only.

Pakistani security forces gunned down 11 terrorists in three separate operations in the restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, authorities have said.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, the operations were carried out in various regions of the Province on December 17 and 18 (2024). The first operation took place in the Tank district following information about the presence of militants in the area.

Seven terrorists were killed during the operation.

The second operation took place in Datta Khel in the North Waziristan district where two terrorists were killed. Two more terrorists were killed in the Mohmand district. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed militants.

The third quarter (July-September) of 2024 saw a sharp increase in fatalities of terrorist violence and counter-terrorism campaigns in Pakistan, with a 90% surge in violence, according to a report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).

A total of 722 people were killed, including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, while 615 others were wounded in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the period under review.

Nearly 97% of these fatalities occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — marking the highest percentage in a decade, and over 92% of these incidents of terror attacks and security forces operations were recorded in the same Provinces.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

South Korea’s acting leader said on Thursday (December 19, 2024) he would veto a spate of contentious bills sponsored by the main Opposition party, deepening political strife in the wake of Parliament’s impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The ruling and Opposition parties have been bickering over how much authority Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country’s No. 2 Official, has assumed since the Opposition-controlled National Assembly last Saturday (December 19, 2024) voted to suspend Mr. Yoon’s presidential powers over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law. The Constitutional Court is to determine whether to formally dismiss the conservative Yoon as President or reinstate him.

Law enforcement Authorities are also separately investigating whether Mr. Yoon’s martial law enforcement amounted to rebellion. Mr. Yoon’s defence Minister, Police Chief and several other Military Commanders have already been arrested over the case. The main liberal Opposition Democratic Party earlier considered impeaching Mr. Han as well for failing to stop Mr. Yoon’s martial law declaration, but shelved the idea after he became acting leader.

Four of the six bills to be vetoed by Mr. Han were meant to introduce greater state financial assistance programs for the country’s agriculture and fisheries industries.

The most contentious bill is the Grain Management Act, which would require the Government to buy surplus rice if the price drops too sharply to protect the country’s farming industry and promote its food sovereignty. Mr. Han said the bill would cause “immense” financial burdens on the Government and eventually lead to further drops in rice prices.

Another controversial bill is the National Assembly Testimony Appraisal Act, which would give lawmakers more power to request people to attend Parliament hearings and submit documents. Under the proposed legislation, individuals could no longer decline such requests by citing the protection of trade secrets or personal information.

The Democratic Party said the bill is necessary to determine the full details of Mr. Yoon’s martial law decree. But Mr. Han said the bill would likely infringe upon people’s privacy and that there are concerns among business leaders that key technology and company secrets could be leaked.

“I’m heavy-hearted because I’ve asked the National Assembly to discuss and act on the six bills again at a time when we desperately need cooperation among the Government and the ruling and Opposition parties,” Mr. Han said in televised comments at the start of a Cabinet Council meeting on Thursday (Dec. 19,2024). “But the Government should make a responsible decision that prioritises the principles of the Constitution and the future of our country.”

Democratic lawmaker and spokesperson Noh Jongmyun quickly criticised Mr. Han, warning him “not to cross a line,” adding, “We’ll immediately drag him down if he’s found to have collaborated with the rebellion.”

Observers earlier speculated the Democratic Party would reconsider impeaching Mr. Han if he vetoed the bills.

Another source of contention between the rival parties is whether PM Han has the right to appoint three vacant justices’ seats at the Constitutional Court, as filling the vacancies could affect the court’s decision on Mr. Yoon.

The martial law enactment lasted only six hours, but it caused huge political turmoil in South Korea and set off alarms from its neighbours and diplomatic partners. Mr. Yoon sent hundreds of troops to the National Assembly to block its vote on his decree. But many lawmakers managed to enter a parliament hall and unanimously voted it down, forcing Mr. Yoon’s Cabinet to lift it.

Mr. Yoon has defended his decree as an act of governance, saying it was a warning to the Democratic Party, which he said has been using its parliamentary majority to obstruct his agenda.

Meeting with foreign media on Thursday (Dec 19, 2024), Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer and spokesperson for Mr. Yoon’s emerging legal team, echoed Mr. Yoon’s assertion that his short-lived power grab didn’t amount to a rebellion. Mr. Seok said, Mr. Yoon did not intend to paralyse the Parliament and denied claims the President ordered the military to arrest his political opponents, including Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung.

“Regarding the charges of rebellion, he never even thought about it, so he cannot possibly agree to such an accusation,” Mr. Seok said.

“What kind of a rebellion is announced through a press conference broadcast to citizens, media and the whole world, as if he was saying, ‘I’m now about to commit a rebellion?'” Mr. Seok said. “When the National Assembly followed the constitutional procedure to lift martial law after two or three hours, we abided by that procedure.”

He said Mr. Yoon may appear in the Constitutional Court to directly defend his case. When asked whether Mr. Yoon would continue to ignore law enforcement’s requests to question him and search his office, Mr. Seok declined to give a specific answer, saying these matters would be handled by Mr. Yoon’s legal team, which he said is nearly assembled.

What does a Palestinian journalist’s day look like, apart from the daily challenges of a news-gathering process? Under constant bombardment and airstrikes, targeted drone attacks, survival is the greatest challenge. Fighting with starvation, homelessness, dehydration, losing family members one after another, lack of basic necessities, medicines, and disrupted internet access and electricity- a Gaza journalist has to struggle with all these in a warzone before filing their storis.

Salman al-Bashir, a journalist with the Palestinian Authority’s TV channel, threw his protective gear while reporting on his colleague Mohammed Abu Hatab’s death. Bashir was choked with tears and said in anguish, “We are victims on live TV.”  

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of December 17, 2024, 141 journalists and media workers have been killed in Palestine’s Gaza and West Bank since the escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine started after October 7, 2023. 

Many of the journalists are as young as 18 years old and started reporting for many agencies after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that led to the war. As Israel barred the entry of foreign journalists into Gaza, these local journalists played a huge role in getting the truth out of the Gaza Strip. Gaza journalists have continued to report from the warzone even after being homeless and after losing their family members. 

A journalist rushes towards the scene of an explosion following an Israeli strike, which reportedly targeted a school in the Zeitoun district on the outskirts of Gaza City, on September 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Reuters reported in October 2023 that after requests made to the Israel Army by the news agency and Agence France Presse not to target their journalist, the Israel Army replied that it can’t guarantee the safety of their journalists as the IDF “is targeting all Hamas military activity throughout Gaza.” 

An investigation done by Forbidden Stories, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, Le Monde, and AFP as part of the Gaza Project revealed that the Israeli Army deliberately targeted and bombed Gaza Strip’s Al-Ghefari tower, where many media houses had their offices, including AFP, on November 2. The AFP is one of the foreign news agencies that has an office in the Gaza Strip. This bombing happened even after AFP had communicated with IDF about their location.

Targeting of journalists and Israel’s denial

Al Hassan Hamad, who started reporting after the war began, was just 18 years old when he was killed on October 6, 2024. He was shot dead by the Israeli army in Gaza’s Jabalia camp while reporting. He worked with media outlets such as Al Jazeera and Media Town TV. After an Israeli missile hit him, his body was shredded into pieces. “All that remains of Al Hassan is some of his hair and body parts weighing no more than five kilograms,” Abdul Rahim Hamad, Hassan’s father, told CPJ. His father shared with CPJ how his son was threatened multiple times from Israeli phone numbers. His colleague at Media Town told CJP that they always have expected a bright future for him as a journalist.

Killed Palestinian journalist AlHassan Hamad. (Photo: Courtesy of Abdul Rahim Hamad)
| Photo Credit:
Committee to Protect Journalist

Losing a whole family

Al Jazeera Arabic cameraperson 45-year-old Samer Abu Daqqa and reporter and Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh were reporting on an Israeli bombing of a UN school in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, when they were attacked by an Israeli drone. Citing an Al-Jazeera report, the CPJ mentioned that health workers couldn’t reach Abu Daqqa while he was trapped with other civilians in that school as Israeli forces were surrounding the school. Abu Daqqa bled to death.

Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh holds the hand of his son Hamza, who also worked for Al Jazeera and who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Dahdouh lost his wife, two other children, and a grandson earlier in the war and nearly killed himself.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Al Dahdouh, hit by shrapnel, was later taken to Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Yunis. In an interview to Al Jazeera, Al Dahdouh said that it’s a difficult moment in the life of Palestinian journalists when they go to cover an incident for the news and find out that the news is their own family. He lost his next son, Hamza Al Dahdouh, a 27-year-old journalist and cameraman for Al-Jazeera. He had already lost his wife, son, daughter, and grandson when an Israeli airstrike hit the Nuseirat refugee camp. 

Protesters carry a banner, and posters bearing pictures of slain Palestinian journalists during a rally to condemn their killing, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

CPJ reported that he was in a car with AFP video journalist Mustafa Thuraya when an Israeli drone fired a missile targeting them. CPJ cited a report from the Times of Israel where they accused them of traveling with a terrorist in the car. When CPJ asked IDF for the identity of the terrorist, they didn’t receive a reply.

Journalist humiliated in detention

This is not the only instance; many times journalists have been accused of being a terrorists, but when asked to prove it, they failed to provide any information.

On July 31, 2024, Ismail Al Ghoul, a 27-year-old Palestinian journalist working for the Al Jazeera Arabic TV channel, was killed when he was in a car with his colleague Rami Al Refee as they were leaving Al Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. 

Ismail Al Ghoul, a 27-year-old Palestinian journalist who was detained and killed in a later incident by Israeli Army
| Photo Credit:
Committee to Protect Journalist

They were obviously wearing ‘Press’ vests and helmets, but that didn’t save them. In March 2024, while reporting from Al-Shifa hospital, Ismail Al Ghoul and many of his colleagues were made to strip off their clothes in winter, blindfolded and handcuffed for 12 hours, and later released by the Israeli Army. 

Mourners and colleagues surround the body of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, killed along with his cameraman Rami al-Refee in an Israeli strike during their coverage of Gaza’s Al-Shati refugee camp, on July 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

On December 15, Mohammad Balousha, a 38-year-old Palestinian journalist who worked with Dubai-based Al-Mashad media, was killed in an Israeli drone strike. He broke a story on how after the Israeli army’s forced evacuation from al-Nasr Children’s Hospital, four premature babies were left to be decomposed and died. Soon after revealing this, he was attacked by the Israeli army, but he survived the first attack. 

Mohammad Balousha, a 38-year-old Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli Army
| Photo Credit:
Committee to Protect Journalist

In a report published earlier in 2024, Reporters Without Borders reported that the Israeli Army is holding 38 journalists in custody. Though Israel has denied all allegations of targeted killing, Women Press Freedom, a women journalist advocacy group, reported that Eman El Shanti, a presenter at Al-Aqsa Radio, was killed in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan area along with her husband and three sons. This organisation reported that the death toll of women journalists alone stands at 26 since October 2023.

Reporting colleague’s death

For a Palestinian journalist, reporting on their colleagues’ deaths has become a daily affair. For Hind Khoudary, a 29-year-old journalist reporting from Gaza for Al Jazeera, it is just not the struggle; it just does not end at finding a safe place, finding food, water, or other basic necessities. These journalists are the ones who constantly had to deliver news of their colleagues deaths. She was on live TV when she received the news of the killing of Ismail Al Ghoul, working from the same network. 

A colleague kneels in front of the body of local Palestinian journalist Mamduh Qantiya who was killed in an Israeli strike, ahead of his funeral at the al-Maamadani hospital in Gaza city in the northern Gaza Strip on December 1, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Solidarity and resilience

Hind Khoudary has shared in a video interview to Afeef Nessouli, who produced podcast shows with Wall Street Journal, that she lives in a house shared by Motaz Azaiza, another Palestinian journalist who was hosting a group of journalists who were all displaced.

She was telling her colleagues are the only support system she has. After reporting she comes to the house, sits together and watch the sunset. For her this is the only thing that keeps her going. 

Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary inspects a tent at a makeshift camp for displaced people in front of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, after it was hit by Israel bombardment on March 31, 2024, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

In a post shared in X (formerly Twitter), she wrote, “I chose this battle, even though I knew it wouldn’t be easy… It’s not a choice I regret, but it’s a weight I carry, a daily reminder that some battles are ours to face alone, no matter how hard they may be. 

Bisan Owda, a 27-year-old journalist, who recently got the Human Rights Defender Award and also won an Emmy Award for her documentary ‘It’s Bisan from Gaza, I’m Still Alive After Six Months of Bombing’ released on AJ+, has been displaced since the start of the war in October 2023 and now lives in tents like others. She keeps posting her videos on Instagram and has also worked with AJ+. Amid relentless bombings and loss, she tries to portray how Gazans are rebuilding lives, taking care of their community, and teaching children. She says in her video, “Displacement is ugly, but my people know how to survive, and we will make it until the end of this.”

Mahmoud Bassam, another young photojournalist who worked with the BBC, wrote in a post on X, “We, the people of this land, share the truth amidst the destruction of our city to show the world that we were not created to bow… We are the ones crushed within the walls of war, but we are not defeated. We are those who lost land, home, and soul, yet we have not lost our will. We are here to tell the world: we are not numbers; we are faces, names, stories. We are hope that will never die. We will stay until the end, writing until oppression is lifted and living until victory is achieved.”

A Pakistan’s military vehicle carries a long-range ballistic missile Shaheen during the Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad on March 23, 2022.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Pakistan on Thursday (December 19, 2024) denounced new U.S. sanctions on the country’s ballistic missile program as “discriminatory” that put the region’s peace and security at risk.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry warned in a statement that the sanctions “have dangerous implications for strategic stability of our region and beyond.” It also cast doubt on U.S. allegations that targeted businesses were involved in weapons proliferation because previous sanctions “were based on mere doubts and suspicion without any evidence whatsoever.”

It also accused the U.S. of “double standards” for waiving licensing requirements for advanced military technology to other countries.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. property belonging to the targeted businesses and bar Americans from doing business with them.

The U.S. State Department said one such sanctioned entity, the Islamabad-based National Development Complex worked to acquire items for developing Pakistan’s long range ballistic missile program that includes the SHAHEEN series of ballistic missiles.

The other sanctioned entities are Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International and Rockside Enterprise.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller posted on X platform on Wednesday that the U.S. had been “been clear and consistent about our concerns” over such weapons proliferation and that it would “continue to engage constructively with Pakistan on these issues.”

Analysts say Pakistan’s nuclear and missile program is primarily aimed at countering threats from neighboring India.

Security expert Syed Muhammad Ali called the sanctions “short sighted, destabilizing and divorced for South Asian regional strategic realities.”

Pakistan became a declared nuclear power in 1998, when it conducted underground nuclear tests in response to those carried out by its rival and neighbor India. The two sides regularly test-fired their short, medium and long-range missiles.

The two South Asian rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. The disputed Himalayan region is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

On Thursday (December 19, 2024) Russian President Vladimir Putin held his marathon news conference and call-in show, an annual event he has used to reinforce his authority and demonstrate sweeping control of the country’s political scene.

Mr. Putin began by boasting about Russia’s economic performance, saying that it’s on track to grow by nearly 4% this year. He acknowledged that consumer inflation is high at 9.3%, but noted Central Bank’s efforts to bring it down and insisted that the situation in the economy remains “stable”.

The tightly choreographed session, which is broadcast live by state-controlled TV stations across Russia’s 11 time zones, has been heavily dominated by domestic issues in the past years. Most journalists and ordinary people calling the studio ask about road repairs, utility prices, house maintenance, medical services, government subsidies for families, and other economic and social issues.

Journalists from the country’s over 80 regions wave colourful signs and placards in the hall near the Kremlin as they try desperately to attract Mr. Putin’s attention.

Russian state media reported that ordinary citizens submitted more than 2 million questions ahead of the show. Questions about Russia’s Military action in Ukraine and soaring tensions with the West are expected to be an important part of the show.

Mr. Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter-century, has vowed to bring what he describes as the “special Military operation” to a victorious end and boasted about Russia’s battlefield gains this year. But just two days before Mr. Putin’s news conference, a senior Russian general was killed by a bomb outside his apartment building in Moscow. The brazen killing of Lieutenant General Igor Anatolyevich Kirillov, claimed by Ukraine, brought the nearly 3-year-old conflict once again to the streets of the Russian capital.

Mr. Putin has declared that last month’s strike on Ukraine with a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile was a response to Western allies’ permission for Kyiv to use their longer-range weapons for strikes on Russia. He threatened that Moscow could launch more strikes on Ukraine with the new Oreshnik missile and warned it could also be used to target Military facilities of the countries that allowed Ukraine to use their missiles for attacks deep into Russia.

Mr. Putin has said that Moscow stands ready for talks on a peaceful settlement to the conflict but reaffirmed his demand that Ukraine must renounce its bid to join The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and recognise Russia’s gains. Ukraine and the West have rejected those demands.

The Russian leader’s comments on Thursday (Dec. 19) will be closely watched for any signs of a shift in his bargaining position ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to negotiate a deal to end the hostilities.

Mr. Putin could also comment on the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who he has offered political asylum. Assad’s demise has dealt a painful blow to Russia, which launched a military intervention in Syria nine years ago to prop up Assad’s Government amid a Civil War.

Moscow has quickly sought to establish contacts with the victorious rebels to secure its diplomatic and Military personnel in the country and try to extend the lease on its air and naval bases in the country.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends his annual end-of-year press conference and phone-in, in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (December 19, 2024) that Russia had not been defeated in Syria and that Moscow had made proposals to the new rulers in Damascus to maintain Russia’s military bases there.

In his first public comments on the subject, Mr. Putin said he had not yet met former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad since was overthrown and forced to flee to Moscow earlier this month, but that he planned to do so.

In response to a question on the subject from a U.S. journalist, Mr. Putin said he would ask Assad about the fate of U.S. reporter Austin Tice, who is missing in Syria, and was ready to ask Syria’s new rulers about Tice’s whereabouts too.

“I will tell you frankly, I have not yet seen President Assad since he came to Moscow. But I plan to do so. I will definitely talk to him,” said Mr. Putin.

He said most people in Syria with whom Russia had been in contact about the future of its two main military bases in Syria were supportive of them staying, but that talks were ongoing.

Russia, which intervened in Syria in 2015 and turned the tide of the civil war there in Assad’s favour, had also told other countries that they could use its airbase and naval base to bring in humanitarian aid for Syria, he said.

“You want to portray everything that is happening in Syria as some kind of failure, a defeat for Russia. I assure you, it is not. And I’ll tell you why. We came to Syria 10 years ago to prevent a terrorist enclave from being created there,” said Mr. Putin.

“On the whole, we have achieved our goal. It is not for nothing that today many European countries and the United States want to establish relations with them [Syria’s new rulers]. If they are terrorist organisations, why are you [the West] going there? So that means they have changed.”

Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey visits St Sophia Cathedral during a visit to Kyiv on December 18, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

The U.K. could send troops to Ukraine to train Ukrainians, U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey has suggested. The U.K. has only a team of medical personnel within Ukraine and has been training Ukrainian troops within Britain since 2022. The suggestion comes as European countries seek to strengthen Kyiv’s hand before it any negotiations to end the war with Russia.

The U.K. would need to make the training of troops “a better fit” for what Ukraine needed, Mr. Healey said en route to Kyiv on Wednesday (December 18, 2024), as per a report in The Times.

“We will look wherever we can to respond to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones fighting,” he said when asked about whether this meant British troops training Ukrainians in Ukraine, The Times reported.

Western countries have aided Ukraine in terms of financing, weaponry and intelligence but avoided sending troops to the country in order to not become direct parties to the conflict with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Mr. Healey’s remarks came on a day when U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke on the phone. Mr. Starmer told Mr. Trump that allies would need to stand together to support Ukraine and ensure it is “in the strongest possible position” , Downing Street said.

Several European countries and the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are trying to ensure that Kyiv is strengthened before any negotiations with Moscow.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated this message on Wednesday in Brussels during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some other European leaders, who had gathered in the Belgian capital for a European Union summit level meeting with Mr. Zelenksyy on Thursday.

Mr. Trump has suggested the U.S. could pull out of NATO and curb funding for Ukraine. The President Elect has also expressed a keenness had called for an “immediate ceasefire” after meeting Mr. Zelenskyy in Paris on December 8.

Thirty-eight people are confirmed dead, and over 100 remain missing in Congo after an overloaded ferry — full of people returning home for Christmas — capsized in the river Burisa late Friday night, according to local officials and eyewitnesses. The boat sank less than four days after another boat in the northeast of the country capsized, killing 25.

Twenty people are confirmed to have been rescued so far.

The boat was traveling in the northeast of the Congo as part of a convoy of other vessels, and the passengers were primarily merchants returning home for Christmas, said Joseph Joseph Kangolingoli, the mayor of Ingende, the last town before the site of the accident.

According to Ndolo Kaddy, a resident of Ingende, the ferry contained “more than 400 people because it made two ports, Ingende and Loolo, on the way to Boende, so there is reason to believe that there were more deaths.”

Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation. However, in remote areas where most passengers come from, many cannot afford public transport for the few available roads.

At least 78 people drowned in October when an overloaded boat sank in the country’s east while 80 lost their lives in a similar accident near Kinshasa in June.

The latest accident prompted anger at the government for not equipping the convoy with flotation devices.

Nesty Bonina, a member of local government and a prominent figure in the town of Mbandaka, the capital of the Equateur province where the ferry sank, said he “condemns the opacity of the authorities in this sector” with regards to how they have handled the latest capsizings.

“How can a ship navigate at night under the watchful eye of river service agents? And now we’re recording over a hundred deaths,” lamented Mr. Bonina.

The capsizing of overloaded boats is also becoming increasingly frequent in this central African nation as more people are abandoning the few available roads for wooden vessels crumbling under the weight of passengers and their goods because of security reasons.

The roads are often caught up in the deadly clashes between Congolese security forces and rebels that sometimes block major access routes. Hundreds have already been killed or declared missing in such accidents so far this year.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau react as world leaders gather for a group photo during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Senior U.S. administration officials have pushed back against the notion that the indictment of Indian citizens including a former Indian government employee in an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York and the charges against Indian businessman Gautam Adani for alleged securities and wire fraud have detracted from the strength of the U.S.-India relationship. Mr. Adani is perceived as being close to Mr. Modi.

The officials are not named as part of the agreed conditions for a briefing call that occurred on Tuesday.

“I think all we can really say is that this is a regulatory and law enforcement issue that’s best left to the agencies directly involved to speak to, and wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment from either the White House or the State Department,” one official said, adding that the U.S.-India relationship was “in a very strong position”.

Another official said the bilateral relationship had become increasingly complex, diverse and deep and that it was inevitable there would be challenges on some occasions.

“The key is how we deal with those, and I can just assure you that we’ve had the deepest possible, appropriate consultation between the two sides. And I’m confident that we will be able to weather this appropriately,” they said.

One official said the relationship had developed “resilience” and maturity and open lines of communication to work through issues.

The Biden administration draws to a close on January 20 next year, when the incoming administration of Republican president-elect Donald Trump begins. It is unclear how the next administration would approach the issues of Pannun or Mr. Adani. While the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is independent in theory, Mr. Trump’s remarks and nominations to the Department have raised concerns about a decline in its levels of independence.

It is likely that the Pannun case will be pursued enthusiastically under the Trump administration, with Mr. Trump’s appointment of Harmeet K. Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General, to head the DoJ’s civil rights division. Ms. Dhillon wrote on X in November 2023 that the Indian government was sending “death squads” to the U.S. and Canada to target North American Sikhs who were speaking about “civil and human rights conditions in Punjab”.

नई द‍िल्‍ली. आप मूवीज और वेब सीरीज के शौकीन हैं तो आपके पास अमेजन प्राइम वीड‍ियो मेम्‍बरश‍िप भी जरूर होगी. अगर ऐसा है तो आपका ये जानना जरूरी है क‍ि अमेजन आने वाले साल में मेम्‍बरश‍िप के न‍ियमों में कुछ बदलाव करने वाला है. अब आपके द‍िमाग में ये बात जरूर आ रही होगी क‍ि क्‍या अमेजन मेम्‍बरश‍िप की कीमतें बढ़ाने वाला है? आइये जानते हैं क‍ि अमेजन आख‍िर क्‍या प्‍लान‍िंंग कर रहा है.

खबर ये है क‍ि अमेजन भारत में अपनी प्राइम मेंबरशिप शर्तों में बदलाव कर रहा है. एक समय में एक ही अकाउंट से क‍ितनी स्‍ट्रीम‍िंग हो सकती है, इसके न‍ियमों में बदलाव होंगे. कंपनी अब टीवी की संख्या पर कैप लगा सकती है. इस बात को आप ऐसे समझें क‍ि आपके मेंबरश‍िप पर दो या तीन टीवी पर अमेजन प्राइम की स्‍ट्रीम‍िंग हो रही है तो अब नए साल से संभवत: आप ऐसा नहीं कर पाएंगे.

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र‍िपोर्ट्स के अनुसार प्राइम मेंबर्स, अब अधिकतम दो टीवी के साथ पांच डिवाइस पर प्राइम वीडियो एक्सेस कर सकेंगे. दो से ज्‍यादा टीवी पर प्राइम वीडियो देखने वाले यूजर को अब तीसरे टीवी पर देखना जारी रखने के लिए अलग से सब्सक्रिप्शन खरीदना होगा. अमेज़न हेल्प पेज के अनुसार, यह बदलाव जनवरी 2025 से लागू होगा. फ‍िलहाल प्राइम मेंबर्स डिवाइस के प्रकार पर कोई प्रतिबंध के बिना अधिकतम पांच डिवाइस पर स्ट्रीम कर सकते हैं.

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बता दें क‍ि Netflix ने भी एक साल पहले ऐसे ही कदम उठाए थे. कंपनी, अमेजन प्राइम मेंबरशिप में कई प्लान देती है. मंथली 299 रुपये, तिमाही 599 रुपये और सालाना 1499 रुपये का प्‍लान उपलब्‍ध है. इसमें प्राइम लाइट जैसे कुछ और सब्सक्रिप्शन ऑप्‍शन भी मौजूद हैं, जिनकी कीमत 799 रुपये प्रति वर्ष है और प्राइम शॉपिंग एडिशन की कीमत 399 रुपये सालाना है.

कंपनी ने भले ही कीमतों में कोई परिवर्तन न क‍िया हो. लेक‍िन यूजर को एक्‍स्‍ट्रा डिवाइस जोड़ने के ल‍िए अलग से भुगतान करना होगा. अगर आप टीवी स्ट्रीमिंग पर बहुत अधिक निर्भर हैं तो आपको अपनी जेब थोडी हल्‍की जरूर करनी पड सकती है.

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