” ”Volume No. 4352 Wednesday January 01, 2020 Jadi 11, 1398 www.outlookafghanistan.net Price: 20/-Afs

Quote of the Day

How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants,

rather than to create it herself.

Anais Nin

Womenwww.outlookafghanistan.net

facebook.com/The.Daily.Outlook.AfghanistanEmail: outlookafghanistan@gmail.comPhone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019

Add: In front of Habibia High School, District 3, Kabul, Afghanistan

Ghani Awarded ‘Ghazi Wazir Akbar Khan’ Medal to

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador John Bass

Hereditary Party Leadership seen as Cause for Concerns

Polls to Help Achieve Stability in Afghanistan: UAE

KABUL - John Bass, the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, received ‘Ghazi Wazir Akbar Khan’ medal by President Ashraf Ghani for his services in the coun-try, the presidential palace said in a statement.The presidential palace hosted the U.S. Ambassador’s farewell

KABUL - Hereditary leadership of political parties and disregard for a democratic transfer of the party mantle has been cause for concern, forcing the Ministry of Justice to amend the law dealing with political groups.Analysts believe heads of politi-cal parties strive for the appoint-ment of their kith and kin to top slots. Such moves signify most of our party leaders pursue their-petty personal interests to the detriment of political groups. The inception of political parties dates back to 1963-1973 -- known as the decade of democracy. But most political parties have been launched over the past 18 years.The Ministry of Justice has reg-istered 74 political parties. Pa-jhwok Afghan News’ findings

KHOST CITY - Local officials on Monday warned people not to make transactions in Pakistani ru-pees beyond Thursday in south-eastern Khost province.The warning came from local civil and security officials during a press conference in Khost city, the provincial capital, today.The officials said transactions were currently based totally on Afghan currency in Khost city and districts of the province.Matiullah Ahmadzai, head of Khost governor’s office, told the conference that the governor’s house had resolved all problems in the way of total transactions in Afghan currency in the province.He said one of the major problems had been shortage of small bank-notes which had been resolved by Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB).“People should not see losses by using Afghan currency, the rates and all other issues that create problems for local currency us-age should be resolved, Afghani is our national identity and it should be kept permanently,” he said.On the other hand, National Di-rectorate of Security (NDS) acting chief for Khost, Col. Mohammad Sharif, said that many groups tried to stop promotion of Afghan currency, but failed.He warned if anyone used Pa-kistani rupees for transactions would be taken to task and their money confiscated.“I repeat, if anyone used Paki-stani rupees for transactions be-yond next Thursday in Khost city or districts, he would face legal action and his money will be con-fiscated based on DAB rules,” he said.Maj. Najibullah Aini, Khost dep-uty police chief, assured they would work together with other security organs for promoting Af-ghan currency.“Security forces, particularly po-lice and intelligence personnel have coordination in promoting Afghan currency,” he said.On the other hand, a number of Khost ...( More on P4)...(1)

KABUL - As long as Americans remain in Afghanistan, a ceasefire is not possible at all, says a Tali-ban commander.The stay of Americans meant Af-ghanistan was an occupied coun-try, Maulvi Mansoor said in an interview on Tuesday.Leading a group of fighters south-west of Kabul, he told Sky News the US must leave Afghanistan to pave the way for a ceasefire.He stressed: “A ceasefire is not possible at all because, while Americans are in our country, it is occupied. They must leave fully…”Talks between the Afghan fac-tions would occur after the Amer-icans leave, explained the Taliban commander.There could be negotiations with the Afghan government until all foreign forces left Afghanistan, Mansoor maintained. (Pajhwok)

JALALABAD - An agreement earlier this year to resolve a long-standing community dispute over Nangarhar water resources has continued to foster social co-hesion among formerly warring tribes.In April 2019, mediation between the Markikhil and Kadarkhil tribes in Nangarhar’s Shirzad district concluded with a unani-mously adopted resolution regu-lating water-distribution rights.In the three-day mediation ses-sion – locally called a jirga – par-ticipants highlighted the negative impact of the 50-year-old feud over water rights and resolved to end the dispute peacefully.The mediation was facilitated by UNAMA as part of its local peace initiative programme, in close co-ordination with the Nangarhar Conflict Resolution Commission.At the conclusion of the jirga, par-ticipants encouraged each other to look to the future and focus on larger issues impacting their com-munities.UNAMA also promotes coher-ent development support by the international community; assists the process of peace and recon-ciliation; monitors and promotes human rights and the protection of civilians in armed conflict; promotes good governance; and encourages regional cooperation. (UNAMA)

BADAKHSHAN - The majority of mines in Badakhshan is being extracted illegally by insurgent groups, said civil activists of Badakhshan.Badakhshan is a rich province in terms of underground mines, but neither the people nor the gov-ernment is benefiting effectively from the mines as most of them are being extracted by the insur-gent and illegal armed groups. Civil activists in Badakhshan are worried about the case and said that almost a million-dollar is go-ing to these groups out of the ille-gal mine extraction monthly.“Daily, many of the mines are being brutally extracted by the insurgents, local commanders with governmental backup, and the cabinet members,” said Ma-muruddin Kufi, a member of the Badakhshan Residents Council.Confirming the news, the Min-istry of Mines and petroleum in-sisted that they are trying to stop the process in cooperation with security forces adding that they will legally follow up the case and cease the process.Abdul Qadeer Mutfi, spokes-person for the ministry added that Afghanistan will improve in terms of the economy if the gov-ernment stops illegal extraction of mine. (ATN)

reception ceremony on Monday evening.President Ghani praised Bass’s services during his tenure in Af-ghanistan and made best wishes for his future endeavors.The statement added that Presi-dent Ghani appreciated John Bass’s efforts to strengthen and

show the leadership of Jamiat-i-Islami, Mahaz-i-MilliIslami, Jabha-i-MilliNijat and Harakat-i-Islami Af-ghanistan has been bequeathed from fathers to sons. As for the Hezb-i-EqtedarMilli, the top party office has switched from one brother to another. (Pajhwok)

Khostis Given 3 Day-Deadline to Stop Using Rupee

US Pullout to Pave Way for Ceasefire: Taliban Commander

Un-Backed Local Peace Initiative Continues to Bear Fruit in Nangarhar

Illegal Extractionof Mines in Badakhshan

expand the friendly relations between Afghanistan and the United States, to secure peace in the country and the region, and to bring aids and contribution of his country to Afghanistan during his mission.Meanwhile, John Bass stressed that his country continues its ef-

KABUL - The United Arab Emir-ates (UAE) hopes the presidential elections will help boost the in-stitution building process in Af-ghanistan.The polls conducted on Septem-ber 28 would also help the coun-try achieve peace, progress and prosperity, the Foreign Ministry in Abu Dhabi said.In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry welcomed the an-nouncement of the preliminary results from the presidential elec-tions.“Rh UAE supports the Afghan elections and views them as an important step towards achieving political stability in the country,” the statement added. (Pajhwok)

forts for peacebuilding in Af-ghanistan, the statement said.John Bass has worked as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, 2014–2017, and the country’s ambas-sador to Georgia from 2009–2012. Later on September 28, 2017, he was appointed as the U.S. Am-bassador to Kabul. (ATN)

LASHKARGAH - A number of farmers who previously sowed wheat and corn crops have culti-vated poppy plant in their fields in southern Helmand province this year.Abdul Bari, a farmer in Nad Ali district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that he cultivated differ-ent crops last year, but none had good income.He said, “I cultivated wheat, corn and groundnut last year which had no good income but this year I cultivated poppy and I expect a good income from it.”He said a large number of farm-

KABUL - The head of the Nation-al Procurement Authority (NPA), Elham Hotaki, was summoned to the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghan parliament, to brief MPs on his office’s involvement in alleged fraud involving supply contracts for the Afghan National Army. Hotaki said there has been no cor-rupt activity in his office.The MPs claimed that they found evidence of corruption in con-tracts for fuel, rice and medicines supplied to the Afghan National Army in some provinces. The contracts are processed by the National Procurement Authority.The NPA chief said some govern-ment officials and some “corrupt” contractor companies are trying to blame his office for their own problems.“‘Corrupt’ companies or employ-ees or high-ranking officials or low-ranking officials who do not have a response to your ques-tions are putting all the blame on

the procurement (authority),” he said. According to Hotaki, a delay in fuel supply for government forc-es was due to problems in the Ministry of Defense and Minister of Interior.

“We approved emergency pro-curement instructions six months ago for procurements in emer-gency cases so that soldiers in the army, in this country, are not faced with death,” he said.Hotaki said that as part of their

activities, they have given a fuel testing contract to an Indian com-pany since 2014. He blamed the Ministry of Agri-culture for inefficiency in transfer-ring India’s wheat from Chabahar Port ...( More on P4)...(3)

JALALABAD - Local officials and residents say GBU-43/B or Mas-sive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb which was dropped in Momandara area of Achin district of eastern Nangarhar caused no harm to human health and farms.They say agriculture activities and people’s life has been normal in the area and there is no sign of damages caused by the so called mother of all bombs (MOAB).

KANDAHAR CITY - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a shopkeeper in the Dand district of southern Kandahar province on Tuesday morning, an official said.A police official, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok Afghan News the incident happened in the Hashmat Kala area of the dis-trict early in the morning.He said two motorcyclists gunned down Haji Rahmatullah, who had a cloth shop in Kandahar City, the provincial capital.The assailants managed to escape the area. There was no immediate claimed of responsibility for the attack. (Pajhwok)

CHARIKAR - Two people were killed as a result of clash between two former Jamiat-i-Islami (JI) commanders in the Siahgird dis-trict of central Parwan province on Tuesday, an official said.Noor Aqa Sami, the district’s ad-ministrative chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the clash occurred between Commander Abdul Sat-tar and Afghan Local Police com-mander Dadullah early in the morning.He said two individuals (a man and his son) loyal to Dadullah were killed in the gunbattle. With-out going into details, he linked the ...( More on P4)...(5)

LASHKARGAH - Two wom-en and a child were killed in roadside bomb blast in Nawa district of southern Helmand province on Monday, an offi-cial said.Police spokesman 2nd Lt. Mo-hammad Zaman Hamdard told Pajhwok Afghan News the victims were travelling on mo-torcycle that hit the Taliban-planted landmine in Sarkhas area this evening.He said the victims were head-ing to Garamsir district.The Taliban have not yet com-mented in this regard. (Pajh-wok)

HERAT ─ Local officials in Herat province have reported an armed attack on a vehicle of security forces in Zenda Jan district of the province.The governor’s spokesperson, Jilani Farhad, told TKG that the militants attacked a vehicle of se-curity forces in Rigi area of Zanda Jan district this morning [Decem-ber 31, 2019], leaving one soldier killed.Earlier, there were reports that the attack took place on the ve-hicle of Herat National Security Officer, but Mr. Farhad issued a denial of the reports. No militant ...( More on P4)...(6)

In March 2017, US forces dropped the bomb on a number of muddy houses in Asadkhel Valley of Achin district.Afghan and foreign officials at the time had said the bomb targeted Daesh militants and killed 95 of the rebels.After the bombing, a number of national and international news agencies reported that crops did not grow ...( More on P4)...(4)

NPA Chief Rejects Accusations of Corruption

Helmand Wheat Farmers Turn to Poppies Again

Locals Say MOAB Caused No Harm to Human Health, Crops

Shopkeeper Shot Dead in Kandahar’s Dand District

Father, Son Killed as Ex-Commanders Clash in Parwan

2 Women, Child Killed in Helmand Bombing

Attack on a Vehicle of Security Forces in Herat

Jan 1, 2020 - Today, Leo, you might begin work on a project that you’ve wanted to do for a long time. This may be career re-lated or personal, but either way it should advance you in whatever direction that you want to go. The only downside is that you

might be a bit too hard on yourself and far too critical of your work.

Jan 1, 2020 - Your energy and enthu-siasm for life should be operating at a very high level today, Taurus. You may therefore want to get together with some of your friends, and might even organize an impromptu social

event of some kind. Exciting news and stimulating conversation should keep your mind busy for a long time.

Jan 1, 2020 - A chance to make some extra money could come today through someone you know slightly, Gemini, perhaps from a social event you both once attended. You might not be totally familiar with the type of work involved, but today your mind is

sharp and so you’ll probably pick it up quickly. The only downside is that you could work harder than you need to, and therefore there’s a danger of tiring yourself out.

Down

Across Yesterday’s Solution

1. Add, 2. Tardy, 3. Ineffectual, 4. Tartarus, 5. S, 6. Poultry, 7. Pizazz, 8. Cold dessert, 9. Books on unusual subjects, 10. Soon, 11. Magma, 12. Gas or petrol, 15. Metalworker, 21. Tidy, 23. Remnant, 25. Court order, 27. Website addresses, 28. Variety show, 29. Ouch!, 31. Extraneous, 32. Strike, 34. Indian bread, 36. Elderly, 39. Apprehend, 40. White aquatic bird, 43. Pee-pee, 44. Hireling, 46. Any day now, 47. Thirstily, 49. Place, 50. Sick-looking, 53. Marsh plant, 55. Cook, 56. Make well, 57. Backside, 58. Doe, 60. Bird of peace, 61. Flower stalk, 64. Type of whiskey

1. Stopper, 5. F F F F, 9. Young cow, 13. Alley, 14. Flies alone, 16. Two-toed sloth, 17. Salt Lake state, 18. Horde, 19. Wander, 20. One more than 6, 22. Sexual desire, 24. Afresh, 26. Backward-looking, 27. Relating to urine, 30. Dissertation, 33. Link, 35. 3rd Greek letter, 37. 56 in Roman numerals, 38. Exaggerated nasality in speech, 41. Rus-sian fighter, 42. Dawn, 45. Sicken, 48. Exit, 51. Distended, 52. Smidgens, 54. Balcony section, 55. Conveyed, 59. Geeks, 62. Sister and wife of Zeus, 63. Birch relative, 65. Violent disturbance, 66. Where the sun rises, 67. Motherless calf, 68. Wash, 69. Run away, 70. Used to be, 71. Anagram of “Lyme”

Outlook Horoscope

Pisces (Feb.19-Mar.20)

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb.18)

Capricorn (Dec.21-Jan19)

Scorpio (Oct.23-Nov.22)

Libra (Sep 23-Oct. 22)Cancer (June 21-July 20)

Sagittarius (Nov.23-Dec.20)

Leo (July 21-Aug. 21)Taurus (Apr.21-May 20)

Aries (Mar. 22-Apr.20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Virgo (Aug. 22-Sep 22 )

Jan 1, 2020 - If you aren’t already into real es-tate, gardening, or interior decorating, Aries, today you might discover a talent for one or all of these fields and decide to pursue it. You might have it in mind as a possible future

source of income, and therefore you could consider look-ing into getting some formal training in the field. Which one you choose, if any, is of course up to you.

Jan 1, 2020 - A social event or group meet-ing could ignite your enthusiasm about new goals, Cancer. These goals may involve giv-ing you a chance to use your creative talents as well as enjoy the companionship and

camaraderie of your fellow group members. Therefore, whatever events are scheduled today might all prove to be both satisfying and enjoyable for you. Don’t hesitate! Move on ahead, do something worthwhile, and enjoy yourself.

Jan 1, 2020 - Some good news may reach your ears via the grapevine regarding your career. This might involve a raise in salary, Libra, or it could be new benefits, new profit sharing plans, or anything that may involve

investments or money that comes your way above and be-yond a paycheck. Contracts or other legal papers that are executed today should definitely work in your favor, so if you’ve been putting off signing any, do it today!

Jan 1, 2020 - Plans for a party or group gather-ing of some kind could take up much of your time and energy, Capricorn. You might have a lot of letters to write, phone calls to make,

or other communications to take care of, but this is likely to prove to be a great excuse for getting in touch with your friends. Today could prove to be a kind of party-before-the-party, which is right up your alley. Enjoy your day!

Jan 1, 2020 - A new and exciting potential love relationship could pop into your life today, Scorpio. This is apt to be the kind of instant attraction that sets your nerves

tingling and your blood boiling! Whether or not you de-cide to pursue this attraction, of course, depends on your situation, but whatever you decide, you’re likely to enjoy feeling the thrill of it today.

Jan 1, 2020 - Though you might wake up to-day feeling a little feverish, Aquarius, as the day progresses you’ll be your old self again. You should be putting a lot of effort into work, particularly mundane chores and

tasks that you’d rather not do. Get them out of the way and then move on to projects that interest you and can fire your ambition and motivation.

Jan 1, 2020 - This is a great day to start any project that concerns writing, acting, or speaking, Pisces. Your creative energies should be flowing freely and abundantly

today, and you should enjoy the rush of new ideas that keep popping into your head. A number of stimulating conversations with close friends should keep your ener-gies churning. Expect to spend a lot of time on the phone, or perhaps in the car dropping in on these friends.

Jan 1, 2020 - Today, Virgo, you’re expand-ing your horizons. You and a friend could plan a vacation that you’re really excited about. It could involve a trip by air, perhaps

across the ocean. The trip is mainly for pleasure, but it probably involves a place you’ve always been inter-ested in and are anxious to see, so it’s an educational trip as well. You have a lot to look forward to. Make the most of it and have fun.

Jan 1, 2020 - Today, Sagittarius, you should be feeling especially energetic and enthusi-astic. Therefore, this is a great day to start

a new enterprise, perhaps involving your home, or just about any kind of life enhancement. More than one op-portunity could present itself to you. One could entail creative activities and the other might be more mundane. Undoubtedly, whether you decide to take both or only one, you’re going to be busy for a while. Work hard!

arouse arrange bidet burger clash classic earlyexcite fancy fiddle fieldimmerse impressiveinteresting judge list mo-ment nays peace progress punish remote responsiblesags score seduce seem sleeve stretch strip...

ers had cultivated poppy in their fields in areas under govern-ment’s control and were expect-ing reasonable outcome.Hikmatullah, another grower in the same district, said he along with his father had cultivated poppy in their fields.He added poppy was cultivated in a very less number of areas un-der government control.The Taliban have not yet com-mented in this regard but earlier they had said the ongoing conflict had badly hit people’s economy, therefore the rebels did not ban the illicit plant. (Pajhwok)

Main News PageJanuary 01, 20202

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind

January 01, 2020

Afghans Hope for Peace in 2020

Despite the public hope, the year 2019 has been replete with a myriad of challenges for Afghan people. Af-ghan civilians bore the brunt of violence and conflict

and Afghan soldiers also sustained heavy casualties. Neither the US and Taliban negotiators reached an agreement nor the Taliban were pressured to start negotiations with the Afghan government. With the beginning of each year, Afghans hope that peace talks will bear the desired result, which would lead to the es-tablishment of peace and stability, however their hope is shat-tered with the Taliban’s relentless refusal to talk with Kabul and insatiable desire for spilling the blood of both combatants and non-combatants, including women and children. Afghans’ pain and sufferings were not mitigated in 2019 since militancy continued unabated and human fatalities were re-ally high. Although Afghan men and women as well as cler-ics called on the Taliban to reduce violence, but the Taliban turned a deaf ear to the public demands. To one’s unmitigated chagrin, tragic stories and events in Af-ghanistan made the national and international headlines in 2019 and people showed despondency and despair. Two issues have continued for many years: For the one, the rift between state and nation has widened since the public have lost their trust in the officials, who exchanged harsh rhetoric against each other and revealed their differences to the public. Second, each Afghan believes that the Taliban continue a proxy war and are unlikely to reduce violence unless their support-ers and organizers agree. With the growing hatred against the Taliban, Afghans are ready to pay sacrifices so that their rights and freedoms were not compromised at the negotiating table and the republicanism would not be replaced by the Taliban’s “Islamic Emirate”. Article 149 of Afghan Constitution also stipulates, “The principles of adherence to the tenets of the Holy religion of Islam as well as Islamic Republicanism shall not be amended. Amending fundamental rights of the people shall be permitted only to improve them.” It is evident that the Taliban leadership understands the public hatred against it and, in turn, did not agree to participate in presidential election held in late September. In other words, the Taliban are aware of the fact that Afghans, who have suf-fered under their regime and sustained heavy casualties in the wake of their indiscriminate attacks, will not cast their votes in their support. Therefore, they urge establishment of “Islamic Emirate”, which indicates the Taliban’s dominant role without election. With the ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and US rep-resentatives, Afghans hope that the two sides will reach an agreement so that the Taliban start negotiating with the Kabul administration. The people of Afghanistan also hold out hope that the Taliban will reduce violence in 2020 and stop shed-ding the blood of civilians. The US-Taliban talks have reached a critical juncture and the two sides are likely to reach a peace deal in 2020. After the peace agreement, the Trump administration will reduce the number of its troops in Afghanistan and the Taliban will, in addition to guaranteeing that Afghan soil will not be used against any states by al-Qaeda, will start negotiation with Ka-bul. The Afghan government is also hopeful that talks with the Tal-iban will start since it has formed a negotiating team and will disclose the list after the US and Taliban finalize their agree-ment. It indicates a strong sense of hope for intra-Afghan dia-logue to be started soon. However, there are two problematic issues: First, a national consensus has not been formed and political figures, who say that they were not consulted for the formation of the negotiat-ing team, disapprove of the list. Thus, this issue is still a bone of contention between the government and political figures and its inclusiveness is a matter of question. Second, if the Taliban bargain over higher price with the Af-ghan government, peace talks may reach a stalemate. The like-ly thorny talks would cover issues including women’s rights, freedom of speech and constitutional changes – and would ultimately decide what a post-war Afghanistan will look like. These issues seem highly controversial and time-consuming. But what is generating hope is the strong determination and seriousness of Kabul and Washington for talks. Meanwhile, the Taliban group has realized the fact that it will not win the war through violence and bloodshed. With the start of 2020, there is still hope and optimism for peace and stability despite all the drawbacks. All three sides – Kabul, Washington, and the Taliban – have to put all their efforts to reach an agreement and put an end to 18-year-old

Chairman / Editor-in-Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Vice Chairman / Exec. Editor: Moh. Sakhi Rezaie

Email: outlookafghanistan@gmail.comPhone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019

www.outlookafghanistan.net

Favorable, fair, and effective governance is clearly one of the most dominant factors for sustainable development. Today good gover-nance is also a key to sustainable development. Honest and compe-

tent governance effects every aspect of one’s life from the protection of our basic human rights to food and water security. Governance is more than just government, it includes everything from an impartial and efficient judi-cial system to schools and healthcare, to an economic system that offers job security and a living wage. Its foundation is a strong and vital civil society. The impacts of poor governance are severe. Ineffective or corrupt govern-ments can allow, or even promote, resource depletion and environmental destruction. They can distort and disrupt local and national economies, impoverishing citizens as well as frightening away investors. In extreme cases, poor governance leads to civil or international conflict. This conflict perpetuates a cycle in which all the components of a healthy civil society are destroyed, and government itself loses connection with its people. In industrialized nations unresponsive, careless governance produces equal-ly devastating results: the apathy and disengagement of its citizens. People adopt a “why bother?” attitude about politics and government. Stronger in-stitutions of governance can manage more effectively the interdependence between economies and eco-systems. In such a way, capable governance can develop lasting solutions to key environmental issues such as global cli-mate change, ozone depletion, and associated health risks. There are many ways to strengthen governance. One of them is to create conditions supportive of democracy such as literacy, a free press and flow of information, and gender and class equality. Nations can recognize and train effective leaders at all levels. Pioneering organizations have also created ways of identifying and publicizing corrupt behavior and then insisting on accountability. Effective economic development that benefits all segments of society is also an essential ingredient in strengthening governance. The benefits of good governance range from an enhanced quality of life for all citizens of each nation to a more responsible, accountable relationship with the environment. A strong and healthy civil society carries with it an almost automatic assurance of reduction in poverty. And, most importantly, the spread of good governance within nations will ultimately lead to dimin-ished conflict and greater possibility of peace between nations. The three interconnected parts that constitute the governance are the state, civil society organizations, and the private sector. The media also plays an essential role in effective governance by enhancing communication among all sectors.Key factors in determining the quality of good governance are responsive-

The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authers and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan.

From Hitler to Stalin, and from Mussolini to Mao, the world’s twen-tieth-century dictators took to heart Niccolò Machiavelli’s famous dictum that “it is better to be feared than loved.” Yet most modern

dictators seem more concerned about maintaining their people’s loyalty not by giving them what they want, but by manipulating them into think-ing they already have it. Nobody executes this approach more masterfully than Russian President Vladimir Putin.Though Putin’s approval ratings have declined considerably in recent years, they remain high, with polls indicating that 61% of Russians evalu-ate his performance positively. If a presidential election were held today, 44% would vote for Putin. No other candidate would receive double-digit support.Putin certainly does not owe his popularity to his economic leadership. Since recapturing the presidency in 2012, he has consistently failed to de-liver on promises of reform, higher productivity and investment, and im-provements in Russians’ standard of living. And his government does not seem to have any plan to kick-start stagnant GDP growth.The International Monetary Fund expects Russia’s annual GDP growth to average less than 2% over the next five years. In 2021, Russia’s share of global GDP (in purchasing parity terms) is expected to drop below 3% for first time in modern times. In nominal terms, this ratio will be even lower – an estimated 1.8%. Most important, Russian households’ real incomes are currently 10% lower than they were in 2014, and show no signs of rising.So what explains Putin’s enduring popularity? As Daniel Treisman and I argue in a recent paper, the answer – for Putin and other modern auto-crats – lies in the ability to control the information people receive, which enables a leader to convince most of the population that, despite the re-gime’s imperfections, it is the country’s best option.In the digital age, this is no easy feat. A growing number of educated citi-zens – or, as we call them, “informed elites” – recognize the system’s de-ficiencies. It is thus imperative for autocrats to prevent these elites from communicating the truth to the public.Repression plays an important role here. But far from the widely publi-cized mass repression of the past – aimed at scaring off all potential op-position – today’s repression is targeted and, critically, deniable. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was officially barred from running in the 2018 presidential election not for political reasons, but because of his fraud conviction (subsequently overturned by the European Court of Hu-man Rights). This approach enabled Putin to maintain the pretense that he secured power in a free and fair election.Modern informational autocrats also make extensive use of censorship. Russia ranks in the bottom 20% of the press-freedom rankings compiled by Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders. Moreover, Freedom

Hot To Ensure Good Governance

The Future of Putin’s Information Autocracy

ness and involvement. Good governance means that stakeholders or ben-eficiaries feel like they have a voice in what affects them and that their par-ticular interests are recognized. In both the developing and industrialized world, civil society is the most important building block in this process. It is made up of everything from community centers to credit unions to cultural organizations. Governance is the glue that holds a society together. In prehistoric times, isolated bands of hunters and gatherers had little need for complicated governance. But as people settled in one place and agricul-tural societies grew in size, legal and political systems grew in response. The more complicated and diverse the society, the greater the need for ef-fective governance: this could range from an all-powerful monarch to a very inclusive, participatory democracy. Of the nearly 200 sovereign na-tions of the world at the beginning of the 21st century each has some kind of political system. All the nations of the world have within them components of good and bad governance. Developing countries - many of them former colonies - often have inherited a top-down system of government in which politicians and civil servants see no need to be accountable to their con-stituents. The result is often system-wide corruption from the lowest village headman to head of state. All citizens suffer as a result, but none more than the poor peasant who has the greatest need for services like health care and education. Ineffective, corrupt governments do little to prevent resource depletion and environmental degradation. Without accountability to their citizens, they often reach economic agreements that offer short-term profits but have a devastating effect on the local environment. There is also little provision for governmental oversight of the activities of corporations and, even if there are laws and rules to protect the environment they are often not enforced. Effective governance rests on a dependable revenue base. Without ade-quate funds to pay civil servants and maintain basic services, a nation risks collapse. Many countries of the world have never been able to rely on tax revenues to meet their budgetary needs. Citizens simply don’t pay their income taxes or the government may impose taxes and duties that are in-equitable and punitive.Outside the economic sphere, bad governance impacts the quality of life of everyone in a country, from the poorest peasant to the most privileged. Not only are human rights disregarded or enforced inconsistently, but also essential services as well as adequate food and clean water simply don’t reach those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. In matters of food and water security the interests of the political elite are served and the rights of majority often disregarded.

Editorial and Opinions3

By: Sergei Guriev House’s Freedom on the Net Index shows that the Internet is less free in Russia than in Belarus, Kazakhstan, or Turkey, reflecting the importance of online censorship in an informational autocracy with high Internet pen-etration. According to the Google Transparency Report, Russia leads the world in official requests to remove online content. In the first half of 2019, Russia placed more than 10,000 requests to remove content. The second-place country, Turkey, had just 1,000 requests. (China is not included in the ranking.)With Russia’s constitution explicitly outlawing censorship, one of the most important jobs of the Kremlin’s censors is to conceal information about their own activities from the public. And they are largely success-ful. As Treisman and I show, in informational autocracies like Russia, the general public is significantly more optimistic about media freedom than educated elites.A third key tool for silencing the informed elites is co-optation. Rather than resist Putin’s regime, and face repression or censorship, Russian elites who choose to support it are rewarded handsomely. Indeed, for this corrupt system to work, Putin must ensure that it provides larger rewards than a competitive one would.But, as effective as these tools have been, the challenge of controlling infor-mation is only intensifying. In particular, YouTube has become a power-ful platform for independent and opposition bloggers, as well as political satire. And, given YouTube’s popularity as a source of entertainment for ordinary Russians, the Kremlin cannot simply block the platform without exposing the extent of its censorship activities.China has managed largely to avoid this challenge, by building its own, controlled version of the Internet, including social-media and entertain-ment platforms. But it launched this strategy as soon as Internet penetra-tion began, so Chinese users have never experienced a free YouTube. With Russians already integrated into the global Internet, it is too late to adopt such an approach.Compounding the challenge, the cohort of informed elites in Russia is growing. As the top Russian propagandist Dmitry Kiselev recently ac-knowledged, “higher learning in the humanities (and social sciences) breeds social unrest.” Not surprisingly, he complained that “too many” Russians are studying these subjects.The majority of Russia’s population will not become well-informed over-night. But, as the regime is forced to dedicate more resources to silencing the informed, the majority will suffer economically. Eventually, the reality of their empty refrigerators will overwhelm the eternally optimistic mes-sages coming from their televisions and computers, and the foundations of Putin’s informational autocracy will begin to crumble.

By: A. Sherzai

Sergei Guriev, a former chief economist of the European Bank for Recon-struction and Development and former rector of the New Economic School in Moscow, is Professor of Economics at Sciences Po, Paris.

December 19, 2019January 01, 20204

UN Official Decries Human-Rights ‹Backlash› Around The World Over the Past DecadeA top United Nations official is decrying what he calls a backlash against human rights on every front this past decade across the globe.Andrew Gilmour, the outgoing assistant secretary-general for hu-man rights, said the regression of the past 10 years hasn’t equaled the advances that began in the late 1970s.“The progress of human rights is certainly not a linear progression, and we have seen that,” Gilmour told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. “There was definite progression from the late ’70s until the early years of this century. And we’ve now seen very much the countertendency of the last few years.”Gilmour said human rights were worse during the Cold War be-tween the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, “but there wasn’t a pushback as there is now.”He pointed to the fact that in the past eight years or so, many coun-tries have adopted laws designed to restrict the funding and activi-ties of nongovernmental organi-zations, especially human rights NGOs.He called the counterattack against progressive human rights — usually led by regions with strongmen: nationalist authori-tarian populist leaders — serious, widespread and regrettable.He pointed to “populist authori-tarian nationalists” in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, who he said are taking aim at the most vulnerable groups of society, including Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, Roma, and Mexican immigrants, as well as gays and women. He cited lead-ers who justify torture, the arrests and killing of journalists, the bru-tal repressions of demonstrations and “a whole closing of civil soci-ety space.” (Fox News)

the committee charged with han-dling such matters does not exist because a government was never formed after September’s election.Netanyahu has dismissed the al-legations as an “attempted coup” and has vowed to battle them from the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime. His predecessor, Ehud Olmert, was forced to resign a decade ago ahead of a corruption indictment that later sent him to prison for 16 months. (Aljazeera)(16) Iranian, ...round of “regular consultations” with his Russian counterpart Ser-gei Lavrov. (IFP News)(17) Karachi Journalist ...fence of facilitator of Khalid Makashi, a terrorist of proscribed organisation Al-Qaeda. She added that four magazines recovered from his possession, “and this act of accused has incited hatred and projected persons and proscribed organisation to commit terrorist activities”.Defence counsel Muhammad Fa-rooq argued that the accused was a senior journalist, who was taken away by law enforcement agencies personnel from his house on Nov 9, 2018 and subsequently handed over to the CTD, which implicated him in the present case. (Pakistan Today)

three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main embassy building. There was a fire at the reception area near the parking lot of the com-pound but it was unclear what had caused it. A man on a loudspeak-er urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”There were no reports of casual-ties, but the unprecedented breach was one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent memory. It followed deadly U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. mili-tary said the airstrikes were in re-taliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it had blamed on the militia.The developments represent a ma-jor downturn in Iraq-U.S. relations that could further undermine U.S. influence in the region and also weaken Washington’s hand in its maximum pressure campaign against Iran.Iraq has long struggled to balance its ties with the U.S. and Iran, both allies of the Iraqi government. But the government’s angry reaction to the U.S. airstrikes and its ap-parent decision not to prevent the protesters from reaching the em-bassy signaled a sharp deteriora-tion of U.S.-Iraq relations.Iraqi security forces made no ef-fort to stop the protesters as they marched to the heavily-fortified Green Zone after a funeral held for those killed in the U.S. air-strikes, letting them pass through a security checkpoint leading to the area.The U.S. military said “precision defensive strikes” were conducted against five sites of Kataeb Hez-bollah, or Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and Syria. The group, which is a separate force from the Leba-nese militant group Hezbollah, operates under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned militias known collectively as the Popular Mobi-lization Forces. Many of them are supported by Iran. (AP News) (8) Protesters Set ...the embassy to protest US air at-tacks that killed 25 fighters from an Iran-backed Shia group in Iraq this week.Shouting “Down, Down USA!” the crowd hurled water bottles and smashed security cameras outside the embassy grounds.Iraq’s caretaker prime minis-ter Adel Abdul Mahdi said that crowds should leave the com-pound “immediately.”“We recall that any aggression or harassment of foreign embassies will be firmly prohibited by the security forces,” Abdel Mahdi’s office said several hours after the attack began.The US military carried out the strikes on Sunday against the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, calling it retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contrac-tor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it blamed on the group.The protesters raised flags of the powerful paramilitary group Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobi-lization Forces), of which Kataib Hezbollah is part, and several people climbed over the wall of the embassy and chanted “death to America” and “no, no Ameri-ca”, witnesses said.Tuesday’s attempted embassy storming took place after mourn-ers held funerals for fighters killed

given how confined the outbreak has been. (RT)(12) Romanian ...with an electric scalpel.”Ungureanu filed a criminal com-plaint to the general prosecutor’s office Monday so that “those who did wrong in this case can bear the consequences of the law.”An investigation is still ongo-ing into a 2015 nightclub fire that killed 64 people. A former health minister is accused of delaying or preventing burn victims from be-ing treated abroad, causing many to die in the country’s rundown hospitals. (Fox News)(13) Ghosn Fled ...rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimi-nation is rampant, and basic hu-man rights are denied,” Ghosn said in a statement on Tuesday.“I have not fled justice - I have es-caped injustice and political per-secution. I can now finally com-municate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week,” he added.MTV also reported that Ghosn entered Lebanon “legally” on his French passport, and authorities saw no reason to prevent his en-try, citing an official source.This contravenes statements made earlier on Tuesday by Ghosn’s lawyer that they were still in pos-session of his three passports as required by the terms of his bail.Junichiro Hironaka, Ghosn’s law-yer, added that his client’s actions were “inexcusable.” (Alarabiya)(14) Libya Militias ...to intertwined networks of militia-men, traffickers and coast guard members who exploit migrants. In some cases, UN officials knew militia networks were getting the money, according to internal emails.“All in all, Libya is run by mili-tias,” said a senior Libyan judicial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of risking his life. “Whatever governments say, and whatever uniform they wear, or stickers they put....this is the bottom line.”Husni Bey, a prominent business-man in Libya, said the idea of Eu-rope sending aid money to Libya, a once-wealthy country suffering from corruption, was ill-conceived from the beginning.“Europe wants to buy those who can stop smuggling with all of these programs,” Bey said. “They would be much better off black-listing the names of those in-volved in human trafficking, fuel and drug smuggling and charging them with crimes, instead of giv-ing them money.”Hinnant reported from Zarzis, Tu-nisia. Brito reported from aboard the Ocean Viking. Contributors include Lorne Cook in Brussels; Rami Musa in Benghazi, Libya, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva. (AP News)(15) Israeli Top ... hearing comes as Netanyahu appears poised to seek immu-nity from the corruption charges against him, delaying the prospect of a trial until the elections when he hopes to have a parliamentary majority coalition that will shield him from prosecution.The request for immunity is likely to languish under the current par-liament.Normally, a request for immunity would need to be approved by a parliamentary committee and then submitted to a full vote. But

(1) Khostis Given ...residents say the rates of daily used items increased to some ex-tend after the campaign for pro-moting Afghan currency was launched and Pakistani rupees banned. (Pajhwok)(2) Journalists Blast ...Babazai said he might have with-held information on certain issues. But overall, the police boss added, he did provide information to the media well in time.“At times, I may be busy with meetings, but the journalists could take comments from police spokesman Adil Haidar anytime.Earlier, Adil Haidar said they al-ways shared information with the media, but they were barred by the Ministry of Interior from giving details of certain incidents without its permission.Based on the Access to Informa-tion Law, all government organs are responsible for sharing infor-mation with the media. Confiden-tial information is an exception, however. (Pajhwok)(3) NPA Chief ...in Iran to Kabul.“We did our assessments on five companies. The bidding was done between two companies whose (owners) are relatives. They were introduced to us by the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.During the session, the Wolesi Jirga Speaker Mir Rahman Rah-mani said they will also summon officials from the Afghanistan National Standards Authority (ANSA) and the Ministry of Agri-culture to talk over the matter. “We will summon the officials of the National Standards Author-ity and the Ministry of Agricul-ture and will hold a joint session so that everything is made clear,” said Rahmani. (TOLO NEWS)(4) Locals Say ...in the area and people there con-tracted diseases.Nangarhar Governor Shah Mah-mod Miakhel told Pajhwok Af-ghan News that he facilitated a National Security Council (NSC)’s team to visit the area and investi-gate the issue.Zahir Adil, spokesman of Nangar-har public health department, said that local healthcare centers and Jalalabad Zonal Hospital had not registered any diseases caused by the bomb.However, a number of provincial representatives a few days ago said that people in the area where the MOAB was dropped had con-tracted different diseases. (Pajh-wok)(5) Father, Son ...firefight to old enmity.Meanwhile, police chief Brig. Gen. Mohammad Mahfooz Walizada confirmed the incident, saying the clash had come to an end and police were investigating the inci-dent. (Pajhwok)(6) Attack ...group has so far claimed the re-sponsibility for the attack. (TKG) (7) Trump Blames ...their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Bagh-dad on Tuesday, smashing a main door and setting fire to a recep-tion area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire, angered over deadly U.S. airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed militia.An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least

in a Baghdad neighbourhood, af-ter which they marched on to the heavily fortified Green Zone and kept walking till they reached the embassy. Security guards were seen retreat-ing to the inside of the embassy. Protesters also were seen hanging yellow flags belonging to the Ka-taib Hezbollah on the walls of the embassy.Speaking from the scene in Bagh-dad, Al Jazeera’s Simona Foltyn said there was no indication of an armed confrontation so far.“This entire funeral procession, consisting mostly of PMF mem-bers and their followers, has en-tered through these gates with-out any resistance whatsoever from the Iraqi security forces that are supposed to guard the Green Zone,” she said, speaking from outside the US Embassy.“We’ve seen in the past when anti-government protesters were able to enter the Green Zone but I don’t believe we’ve seen such a large number of people come this close to the US Embassy,” she con-tinued, calling this a “significant development”.“It remains to be seen how the au-thorities will react and more im-portantly, how the US will react,” Foltyn added. (Aljazeera)(9) Over 400 ...Herein, most of trips were carried out through Kapikule, Pendik, Ha-bur, Yalova, Ipsala, Cesme, Hamz-abeyli, Gurbulak, Diluju and Sarp checkpoints.In November 2019, 36,571 cargo transportation trips were car-ried out through Turkey’s check-points, which is 3,821 trips more compared with November 2018. (Trend)(10) North Korea’s ...ington has downplayed as arti-ficial, to show more flexibility to reopen talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.The upcoming speech is expected to be the culmination of an ongo-ing meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s 7th Central Committee, a key policy-making body, which Kim convened on Saturday. It was still under way on Tuesday, state media said.“In any case, North Korea would add a lot of caveats before and af-ter testing to make sure they’re not intent on destroying the negotiat-ing table and it was the Americans who betrayed them,” Cho told Re-uters. (Reuters) (11) China Launches ...Comparisons to Severe Acute Re-spiratory Syndrome (SARS) were drawn on social media after the city’s health department posted a notice online Monday which in-structed hospitals to report any and all new cases of the as yet un-identified viral pneumonia. SARS was a respiratory illness which killed hundreds of people in China at the turn of the millen-nium, with some 5,300 infections leading to 349 deaths between 2002 and 2003. A further 299 were killed in Hong Kong.The World Health Organization (WHO) criticized China at the time for downplaying and under-reporting the rate of infection. The WHO later declared China free of the virus in May 2004. However, local health experts have dismissed rumors that the current outbreak could be related, saying it is unlikely to be SARS, or a similar mutation, or offshoot,

International5

Neighbor News

Protesters Set Fire to US Embassy in Baghdad

Uzbekistan’s FEZ Navoi to Expand Exports by

Reducing Costs

Karachi Journalist Sentenced to Five-Year Imprisonment in

Religious Hatred Case

Delegations of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Meet in Batken

Romanian Woman Dies After Accidentally Catching

Fire During Surgery

Ghosn Fled Japan in A Musical Instrument

Box: MTV

Israeli Top Court Hears Case on Netanyahu’s

Future

Libya Militias Rake in Millions in European

Migration Funds

Russia, Ukraine Clinch Gas Transit

Extension Deal

China Launches Probe into Mysterious Viral Pneumonia Amid Rumors

of SARS 2.0

Iranian, Chinese Foreign Ministers Meet in Beijing

North Korea’s Kim to Unveil ‘New Path’ In New Year Speech After

U.S. Misses Deadline

TASHKENT - Presi-dent of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Navoi re-gion on December 28 and got acquainted with projects in the Navoi Free Economic Zone (FEZ), Trend re-ports citing the presi-dential press service.The activities and op-portunities of the free economic zone orga-nized in 2009 were ex-panded in accordance with the presidential decree of June 5, 2018. In the current year alone, the number of residents of this zone increased by 27 and reached 66. The total cost of the projects ex-ceeded $437 million.“Today, the most im-portant task is to cre-

ISLAMABAD - An antiterrorism court in Karachi has awarded five-year imprisonment to journalist Nasrullah Chaudhry in a case per-taining to possessing literature against the state and spreading re-ligious hatred.Chaudhry, a journalist associated with Urdu language daily Nai Baat, was found guilty of committing offences punishable under Sec-tion 11-F (i) of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 (a person is guilty of an offence if he belongs, or professes to belong, to a proscribed organisa-tion), Section 11-W(i) (printing, publishing or disseminating any ma-terial to incite hatred or giving projection to any person convicted for a terrorist act or any pro-scribed organisation or an organisation placed under observation or anyone concerned in terrorism) and Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism).The ATC-VI judge, who conducted trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pro-

DUSHANBE - Bat-ken region governor Akram Madumarov met with Sughd re-gion governor Rajob-boi Ahmadzoda in Ak-Tatyr village, Bat-ken district, Turmush reports. The meeting was held with the purpose of strength-ening of friendly ties between the citizens of two countries. The meeting was also at-

TEHRAN - In the Tues-day talks, the two sides conferred on bilateral relations, JCPOA devel-opments, and the most pressing international and regional issues.During the meeting,Zarif said that establishing strate-gic ties shows the two sides’ keenness to rein-force their cooperation. “We should also hold constant consultations on and this trip serves that aim.” Zarif further hailed China for supporting Iran’s stance on the in-ternational stage.He also criticized uni-

TOKYO - Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn fled Japan hidden inside a box intended to transfer musical instruments, according to Lebanese television station MTV.A band of musicians en-tered his home in Japan under the pretense that they would provide the entertainment during dinner. After leaving the party, Ghosn had hidden inside one of the musical instrument’s boxes before departing

BUCHAREST - A Ro-manian woman with pancreatic cancer has died after she was badly burned last week during a surgical procedure, according to reports.Surgeons at a Bu-charest hospital had treated the 66-year-old patient with an alco-hol-based disinfectant on Dec. 22 before using an electric scalpel that caused combustion. The patient ignited “like a torch,” wrote Romanian politician

TRIPOLI, Libya — When the European Union started funneling millions of euros into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Medi-terranean, the money came with EU promises to improve detention centers notorious for abuse and fight human trafficking.That hasn’t happened. Instead, the misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative web of businesses funded in part by the EU and enabled by the United Na-tions, an Associated Press investigation has found.The EU has sent more than 327.9 million eu-ros to Libya, with an additional 41 million ap-proved in early December, largely funneled through UN agencies. The AP found that in a country without a functioning government, huge sums of European money have been di-verted ...(More on P4)...(14)

JERUSALEM - Israel’s Su-preme Court has convened to hear a petition on whether an indicted member of parlia-ment can form a new govern-ment, a key test case for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to see if he can prolong his po-litical career after elections in March.If the court decides Netanya-hu is ineligible, it could pre-cipitate a constitutional crisis in Israel, and exacerbate the already tenuous ties between the Israeli government and ju-diciary.The court is not expected to hand down an immediate rul-ing on Tuesday and may ask for a full panel of the court to convene on the matter. Either way, it was wading into un-charted territory.Israeli law requires Cabinet ministers and mayors to re-sign if indicted, but does not specify so for a sitting prime minister.There are no restrictions on Netanyahu to run in the March 2 election - the third polls in less than a year - but good governance groups are appealing whether he could be tasked with forming a new government if he emerges vic-torious.Given the shaky legal ground, the court could deem the sce-nario hypothetical and delay the case until that happens.The...(More on P4)...(15)

MOSCOW - Russia and Ukraine have signed a package of documents extend-ing Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine for five more years, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom said in a statement late Monday.“After five days of continuous bilat-eral negotiations in Vienna, final deci-sions were made and final agreements reached,” Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said. Under the agreement, Russia will ship through the Ukrainian gas transport system a total volume of 225 billion cu-bic meters of gas in the next five years, including 65 billion cubic meters in 2020 and an average of 40 billion cubic me-ters each year in 2021-2024. The current contract for the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine expires at the end of Tuesday. (Xinhua)

ate added value and jobs. Each industrial enterprise must form a value chain using modern technologies and a reasonable ap-proach. It is neces-sary to study foreign markets and expand exports by reducing costs,” said Mirzi-yoyev.The president ob-served the work of some companies, got informed on the qual-ity of manufactured products.Mirziyoyev gave in-structions on expand-ing the production of import-substituting goods, providing the population with af-fordable and high-quality products. (Trend)

nounced his verdict reserved after record-ing evidence and final arguments from both sides on Dec 21.The judge awarded him five-year imprisonment and Rs10,000 fine under Section 11-W(i) with the direction to serve one month imprison-ment on default.He was also sentenced to six-month imprison-ment and Rs5,000 fine under Section 11-F(i) with the direction to serve 15 days imprison-ment on default.The court cancelled his bail and sent him to the prison to serve out his sentences. However, all the sentences will run concurrently.On the other hand, state prosecutor Farhana Parveen contended that a joint investigation team interrogated the accused and collected all the material evi-dence, including Nas-rullah Chaudhry’s con-fession.She further contended that the accused was well connected to com-missioning of the of...(More on P4)...(17)

tended by district governors, town mayors, heads of lo-cal self-government bodies, community leaders. The elders discussed the issues related to prevention of recurrence of con-flicts between popu-lation of border areas and ways to further strengthen bilateral ties.(AKI Press)

lateral US sanctions against Iran, calling on the world community to counter unilateral-ism and back multilat-eralism.The Chinese foreign minister, for his part, underscored the neces-sity of strengthening ties with Iran.In the current situa-tion, he added, the two countries should ex-change views on differ-ent issues in addition to maintaining contacts.Zarif arrived in China after a visit to the Rus-sian capital of Moscow, where he held a fresh ...(More on P4)...(16)

PYONGYANG - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to make a close-ly watched New Year address on Wednesday which is likely to offer a glimpse of a “new path” he has vowed to take if the United States fails to meet his deadline to soften its stance over denuclearization.The New Year address is expected to touch upon a wide range of issues from foreign af-fairs and military devel-opment to the economy and education.In his 2019 speech, Kim said he might have to change course if Wash-ington sticks to its pres-

BEIGING - Dozens of patients have been quarantined and several hospi-tals put on alert in central China amid an outbreak of a viral pneumonia of unknown origin.There have been a total of 27 con-firmed cases since the start of De-cember in Wuhan, with the majority appearing to come from a single sea-food market in the city. Health work-ers are still working to pinpoint the source, while also disinfecting the marketplace as a precaution. Seven patients are critically ill, 18 oth-

BAGHDAD - Dozens of protesters broke into the US embassy compound in Iraqi capital Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire.Witnesses at the scene re-ported flames rising from inside the compound and at least three US soldiers on the roof of the main building inside embassy.It was not clear what caused the fire at the recep-tion area near the parking lot of the compound.A man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter

sure campaign and demands unilateral ac-tion, while stressing a “self-reliant” economy, a drive he has launched amid tightening sanc-

tions.The United States was on track to ignore a year-end deadline set by Kim, which Wash...(More on P4)...(10)

ers are in stable condition, and two are recovering and are expected to be released shortly, according to the Wuhan health department. So far no human-to-human infection has taken place and no medical staff have con-tracted the illness.Experts from the National Health Commission have been dispatched to determine both the cause and scope of the outbreak and whether there is any truth to the rumors online that this may be the next SARS. ...(More on P4)...(11)

the compound, saying: “The message was de-livered.” The US ambas-

Japan via a local air-port.MTV added that Ghosn had been in Lebanon for many hours before the news of his escape from Japan was made public. Japan’s ambas-sador to Lebanon was informed of his arrival in the country after be-ing contacted by MTV, the station said.“I am now in Leba-non and will no longer be held hostage by a ...(More on P4)...(13)

Emanuel Ungureanu on hisA nurse reportedly doused the patient in a bucket of water to put out the fire. The wom-an suffered burns to 40 percent of her body and she died a week later, BBC reported.Deputy Minister Hora-tiu Moldovan said the “surgeons should have been aware that it is prohibited to use an alcohol-based disin-fectant during surgical procedures performed ...(More on P4)...(12)

Over 400 Cargo Transportation Trips Carried Out by Kyrgyz Trucks in Turkey

In November 2019, 427 cargo transporta-tion trips were carried out by Kyrgyz trucks in Turkey, which is 250 trips more compared with November 2018, Turkey’s International Transporters Associa-tion (UND) told Trend.During this month, most of cargo transpor-tation trips by Kyrgyz trucks were carried out through the Gurbulak checkpoint (198 trips).At this time, 10 trips

were carried out by Ka-zakh trucks through Aktas checkpoint, 34

through Diluju check-point, 46 through Es-endere checkpoint, and

138 through Sarp check-point....(More on P4)...(9)

sador to Iraq and other staff were evacuated from the embassy. Ear-

lier, hundreds of pro-testers gathered outside ...(More on P4)...(8)

January 01, 2020BAGHDAD — President Donald Trump is blaming Iran for a breach of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad and is calling on Iraq to protect the embassy. Trump tweeted Tuesday that “Iran killed an American contractor, wound-ing many.” Trump says, “We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully re-sponsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!Trump tweeted from his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is in the midst of two-week plus vacation. He’s been largely out of sight and the tweet marked his first comment on the weekend U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.THIS IS A MAJOR NEWS UP-DATE. AP’s earlier story is below.Dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and ...(More on P4)...(7)

Trump Blames Iran, calls on Iraq to Protect US Embassy

www.thedailyafghanistan.comfacebook.com/The.Daily.Afghanistan

Email: thedailyafghanistan@yahoo.comPhone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019

Wednesday January 01, 2020Back Page

Add: In front of Habibia High School, District 3, Kabul, Afghanistan

www.outlookafghanistan.netfacebook.com/The.Daily.Outlook.Afghanistan

Email: outlookafghanistan@gmail.comPhone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019Add: In front of Habibia High School,

District 3, Kabul, Afghanistan

Jalalabad KandaharGhazni Mazar Herat Bamiyan KabulRainCloudy SnowShowers

SnowRainSnowCloudy

-4°C

14°C

6°C -2°C

2°C

-7°C2°C

1°C9°C

5°C

11°C14°C1°C

Daily Outlook Weather Forcast

5°C

PESHAWAR - Pakistan has al-lowed cotton imports through the Torkham border from Af-ghanistan and Central Asian States to meet the growing de-mand of the textile value-added sector.All duties and taxes on cotton

imports were waived at a meet-ing of the Economic Coordina-tion Committee (ECC) of the cabinet in Islamabad on MondayThe decision will be effective from January 15, 2020. One per-cent customs duty and a 5pc sales tax had been imposed on cotton imports in 2014-15. Over the next few years, the imports were subject to 3pc regulatory duty, 2pc additional customs duty and 5pc sales tax.

In order to fill the demand-pro-duction gap, the commerce divi-sion proposed duty-free cotton imports. The ECC was informed the bulk of cotton would be lifted from local farmers by Jan 1 next year and the proposed exemption would not adversely

affect the interests of local grow-ers.Commerce and food security di-visions were directed to engage with cotton importers for the establishment of facilities at the Torkham border crossing.Afghanistan and Central Asian states have become more viable economic sources of cotton im-ports for Pakistan, which sus-pended trade with India some months back. (Pajhwok)

Pakistan Allows Cotton Imports Via Torkham

Land Route

Journalists Blast Police Chief for Not Sharing Info

Iran, Afghanistan to Develop Trade, Health Cooperation

TEHRAN – A delegation from Af-ghanistan hospitals, doctors and experts on Tuesday called for de-veloping scientific relations with Iran.International Interaction center

KHOST CITY - A number of journalists in southeast-ern Khost province on Tuesday blamed the police chief for not sharing information with the media.They claimed Brig. Gen. Sayed Ahmad Babazai, who was appointed as Khost police chief a year back, had since been refusing to cooperate with media profes-sionals.

of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs hosted a delegation from Afghanistan.The trip was aimed at promoting scientific relations with Iran.Head of International Interaction

Bismallah Arman, a reporter with Alam Media Pro-duction, told Pajhwok Afghan News he had been un-able to get Babazai’s comments on any issue since his appointment.He said the police headquarters seized some drugs last week, but could not file a story in the incident, as the police chief declines his request.

center of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs Mahdi Ghalenoei and the spokes-man for Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health Vahid Majrouh called for developing scientific re-

Arman said, “As a journalist wanted to make a report on the policemen training so I made the report within six months with a lot of difficulties but I was not able to have the police chief comment in this regard.”Qabil Noor Hamkar, a Gharkhat TV reporter, also as-sailed the police chief for refusing to share any kind of information with journalists.

lations between Iran and Afghani-stan.During the event, Iranian and Af-ghan knowledge-based compa-nies presented their latest achieve-ments and products. (IRNA)

He said they were provided written information re-garding incidents, but such details were not useful for feature writers.“The police chief doesn’t want to share voice or video clips with media people. Such clips are so important for a TV or radio journalists,” he argued.Akbar Yasini, a reporter with Zhman TV in Khost, held a similar view. If the situation remained un-changed, there would be bad outcomes, he warned.On the other hand, ...( More on P4)...(2)