South Sudan Cargo Plane Crash Left at least 36 dead

http://www.newsbharati.com/ South Sudan Cargo Plane Crash Left at least 36 dead

Antonov AN-12

South Sudan Cargo plane crash left at least 36 dead on Wednesday when a plane crashed shortly after taking off from South Sudan's capital Juba, rescue workers said.

Police and rescue workers pulled bodies of men, women and children out of the wreckage of the Russian-built Antonov An-12 cargo plane, which smashed into a farming community on an island on the White Nile river, seconds after taking off.

"So far 36 bodies have been collected and brought to hospitals," South Sudan Red Cross official Majju Hillary told AFP, adding that all the victims were on board the ill-fated aircraft.

Two survivors were pulled out of the twisted metal hulk of the plane but one of those later died, with a young boy the only survivor, the Red Cross said, adding the number of dead may still rise.

"We can't assess this is the final toll, as some debris is too heavy to be lifted and needs some heavy machinery," Hillary added.

The five-member Armenian crew were all killed, the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Farmer Ibrahim Mohamed said the plane crashed near to his home, with debris scattered around the hut where his four children were inside, but all were safe.

"The sound was so loud... the plane started descending and landed near my door," Mohamed told AFP.

"One of the tyres broke off and ran into the house - but thank God it did not injure anyone."

Cargo planes to remote parts of South Sudan often carry passengers as well as goods, and are commonly overloaded.

The main fuselage of the plane ploughed into thick woodland, with debris scattered in a wide area around the riverbank, according to an AFP reporter at the site.

Radio Miraya, a United Nations-backed station, said the plane had been heading to the northern Upper Nile state, crashing some "just 800 metres from Juba International Airport runway."

Police said they did not know how many had been on board the plane when it crashed - nor if anyone had been killed or injured on the ground - and so were unable to give an official death toll.

Large chunks of metal were scattered across the island, which is home to several small farming communities.

The UN peacekeeping mission, which is based close to the airport, said it was aiding the search and recovery operation, and had provided ambulances and troops to help.

Juba's airport is the busiest in the war-torn country, which is the size of Spain and Portugal combined but has only a few tarmacked roads.

The airport hosts regular commercial flights, as well as a constant string of military aircraft and cargo planes delivering aid to remote regions cut off by road.

Civil war broke out in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that has split the poverty-stricken, landlocked country along ethnic lines.

Fighting continues despite an August peace deal, but battles today are far from the capital.

Tens of thousands have been killed, and UN-backed experts have warned of the "concrete risk of famine" before the end of the year, if fighting continues and aid does not reach the hardest-hit areas.

South China Sea- India Angered China by Referring SCS as West Philippine...

http://www.newsbharati.com/ South China Sea- India Angered China by Referring SCS as West Philippine Sea.

As turbulence between China and other regional players grow over South China Sea dispute, India has added to worries of China by referring South China Sea as West Philippine Sea. India’s move is making South China Sea waters diplomatically more turbulent than ever.

While the US and China are engaged in a show of power in the South China Sea, India decided to side with the Philippines on its claims to the waters.

In an official joint statement issued after Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj met Philippines’ Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert F Del Rosario, Delhi referred to the disputed region as the West Philippine Sea, reports The Economic Times.

Defense Ministers of participating nations stand together after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AP Defence Ministers of participating nations stand together after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AP

This is the first such official instance and government officials told the newspaper that it was a deliberate decision to use the name which Philippines has been using for the past few years to refer to the waters which both they and China claim as theirs.

Meanwhile, a US defence official said on Wednesday that a meeting of Asia-Pacific defence ministers has scrapped plans for a joint declaration after the Chinese delegation lobbied to block mention of Beijing's island-building activities in the disputed South China Sea.

"Our understanding is there will be no joint declaration," the official said, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.

The acrimony at the Kuala Lumpur defence dialogue marks the latest fallout from a confrontation between Washington and Beijing over China's expansive claims to the strategic South China Sea and its construction of artificial islets to back them up.

It was not immediately clear who made the final decision not to issue a statement, but the US official said that "in our view, no statement is better than one that avoids the important issue of China's (land) reclamation and militarisation in the South China Sea."

Defence ministers from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and several regional partners met Wednesday morning in Kuala Lumpur for an annual dialogue first launched in 2013.

Participants included US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and China's Defence Minister Chang Wanquan.

Officials said it was the first time the dialogue failed to issue a joint statement by the defence chiefs.

The China-US friction has spiked since last week, when the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the China-built land formations in the disputed Spratly Islands.

South China Sea dispute

India angers China Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

China Trying Hard to Ommit South China Sea Reference in Defense Talks in...

http://www.newsbharati.com/ China Trying Hard to Ommit South China Sea Reference in Defense Talks in Malaysia.



China is lobbying Southeast Asian nations to drop any reference to concerns over the South China Sea in a statement to be issued after regional defense talks in Malaysia, a diplomatic push that reflects growing tension over China's man-made islands.China's push could cast into doubt a signing ceremony traditionally held with ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) set for Wednesday afternoon, a senior U.S. defense official said.



"The reason is because the Chinese lobbied to keep any reference to the South China Sea out of the final joint declaration," the senior U.S. defense official said early on Wednesday, on condition of anonymity.



"Understandably a number of ASEAN countries‎ felt that was inappropriate. It reflects the divide China's reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea has caused in the region."



The U.S. official added, "This was an ASEAN decision but in our view no statement is better than one that avoids the important issue of China's reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea."



Wednesday's gathering brings together the 10 southeast Asian defense ministers, along with ministers from countries such as the Australia, China, India, Japan and the United States.



The meeting, first held in 2006, is a platform to promote regional peace and stability.



Officials this week said the United States and Japan were pushing to get concerns about the South China Sea included in the joint statement. Beijing had made clear as early as February that it didn't want the South China Sea discussed at the meeting, a second senior U.S. defense official said earlier in the week.



Forum host Malaysia has agreed to include a mention of the South China Sea in the final statement, said a Philippine defense official traveling with the defense minister.



The official declined to give specific details but said the Philippines, which traditionally argues for a stronger stance against China's territorial ambitions, was satisfied with the reference.



"It's better than not having it in the document, but of course we could have a better statement," the official said.



"As of last night, it was there, so we are happy. I hope the South China Sea issue stays there until it is finally issued."



Malaysia is negotiating hard to get an agreement acceptable to both the United States and China, a senior Malaysian official said on Tuesday evening.



"Malaysia has to balance it out," said the official, who declined to be identified. "The defense minister Hishamuddin Hussein has his plan." The meeting is taking place a week after a U.S. warship challenged territorial limits around one of Beijing's man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago with a so-called freedom-of-navigation patrol.



China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.



U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter held a 40-minute meeting with his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan on Tuesday at which the two discussed the South China Sea, a third senior U.S. defense official said.



"The Chinese people and military will not stand for any infringements of China's sovereignty and relevant interests," Chang told Carter at the meeting, the Chinese defense ministry said in a statement. "We urge the United States to put a stop to all its mistaken words and deeds, and not take any other dangerous moves which threaten China's sovereignty and security interests," he added.



ASEAN meetings routinely become a venue for countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam to argue for a stronger stance against China's territorial ambitions.



Past ASEAN forum statements have made extensive references to the South China Sea issue.



A 2013 communique after a Brunei meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers referred to the importance of "peace, stability, and maritime security in the region" and the resolution of any disputes "by peaceful means in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law."

Russia Back Tracks on Demands to Retain Syria President Bashar al Assad

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Russia Back Tracks on Demands to Retain Syria President Bashar al Assad.



Russia back tracks on demands to retain Syrian President Bashar al-Assad





In an apparent effort to set the stage for transition talks, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday that Moscow does not consider it a matter of principle that Syrian President Bashar Assad should stay in power.



Asked whether it was crucial for Moscow that Assad stays, Maria Zakharova said on the Ekho Moskvy radio station: "Absolutely not, we've never said that."



"What we did say is a regime change in Syria could become a local or even regional catastrophe," she said, adding that "only the Syrian people can decide the president's fate."



Russia is believed to be Assad's strongest backer and has previously balked at the West's suggestions that the Syrian president should be ousted.



Russia in September began carrying out air strikes at Islamic State fighters in Syria at Assad's request.



Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian news agencies that Moscow is aiming to host a round of talks between Syrian officials and opposition leaders next week.



Bogdanov said the Syrian government has agreed to participate, but that it is unclear which opposition groups might come. He did not give a specific date for the proposed talks.



The talks are expected to be discussed Wednesday at a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.N. Syrian envoy Staffan de Mistura, Bogdanov said.



Assad made a surprise visit to Moscow last month, which was viewed as a signal that Russia ultimately seeks a political settlement after weeks of heavy airstrikes in Syria, although the terms of such an arrangement are uncertain.



In a surprising about face, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said that it is not crucial to retain President Bashar al-Assad's position in Syria, a reversal of its earlier intentions to preserve his presidency using military power. Russia's previous insistence on keeping Assad put the country at odds with the United States and its allies. In the announcement, reported by Reuters and Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, Russia said it would be inviting representatives from the Syrian government and opposition groups to Moscow for peace talks.



Last week, more than a dozen parties, including the United States and Russia, agreed to work toward establishing a nationwide cease-fire in Syria, with the eventual goal of holding internationally supervised free and fair elections. At the time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the decision as to who would lead Syria would be left up to the Syrian people

Russia in Syria- US & Russian Fighters Test Communicated Over Syrian Sky...

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Russia in Syria- US & Russian Fighters Test Communicated Over Syrian Sky- Pentagon



US, Russian Fighters Communicate Over Syria in Test: Pentagon



US and Russian fighter pilots communicated directly in the skies over Syria on Tuesday in a successful test of new procedures for avoiding incidents as they pursue separate air campaigns, the Pentagon said.



Navy Captain Jeff Davis said the test, carried out between one aircraft from each side over south central Syria, lasted three minutes and "met its intended objective."



"This test assured that the first time this mode of communication was used would not be during an unplanned encounter," Davis said.



The United States and Russia signed a "memorandum of understanding" on October 20 aimed at de-conflicting their air operations over Syria, where they are waging parallel air campaigns with different objectives.



A US-led coalition has been targeting Islamic State forces with air strikes since December 2014, while the Russians have been hitting a broader range of rebels since opening an air campaign in September in support of its Syrian ally, President Bashar al-Assad.



Over the past two months, the pace of US air strikes has fallen off, compared to the previous six months, hitting a low of 117 air strikes last month.



The Pentagon denies the drop-off is related to Russia's entry in the conflict, attributing it instead to fluctuations typical of military operations.



US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter last week vowed to intensify coalition air strikes against the IS group, which has taken over large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.



A US defense official said Tuesday's test did not amount to joint training with the Russians, as Moscow has described it in a statement.



"We put on hold all military to military cooperation following the onset of Russian aggression in Crimea, and that remains in effect," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.