Shalina D Kumar would be the first federal judge of South Asian descent in Michigan…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American circuit court chief judge Shalina D Kumar as a federal judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, the White House announced on Wednesday.
Nominated by Biden to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Chief Judge Shalina D Kumar has served on the Oakland County Sixth Circuit Court since 2007. She was appointed Chief Judge of the Circuit Court by the Michigan Supreme Court in January of 2018, a media release said.
Shalina D Kumar would be the first federal judge of South Asian descent in Michigan, the White House said.
In addition to her chief judge duties, Judge Shalina D Kumar retains a full caseload covering both civil and criminal matters, the White House said.
Throughout her years on the bench, Shalina D Kumar has served as a presiding judge of the Adult Treatment Court, the Chairperson of the Oakland County Criminal Assignment Committee, the bench liaison to the Oakland County Bar Association Circuit Court Committee, a member of the Michigan State Bar Professionalism Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Michigan Judges’ Association.
Prior to taking the bench, Shalina D Kumar was a civil litigator in private practice from 1997 to 2007, including as an associate with Weiner & Cox PLC from 2004 to 2007 and Sommers, Schwartz, Silver & Schwartz PC from 2000 to 2004.
She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1993 and the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law in 1996.
She was appointed judge for the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County, Michigan by former Governor Jennifer Granholm on August 20, 2007, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gene Schnelz. Shalina D Kumar was then elected to the court in 2008 and re-elected in 2014.
The US ambassador pointed out that the United Nations had provided evidence detailing abuses carried out by Russian instructors working as an arm of Russia’s Ministry of Defense in the CAR…reports Asian Lite News
The United States calls on Russia to immediately stop the violence allegedly perpetrated against civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR) and withdraw its military personnel, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement on Wednesday.
A report by the UN Panel of Experts on the CAR, dated June 25, claims that Russian military instructors, along with the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), are responsible for committing human rights abuses, including indiscriminate killings of civilians and looting of humanitarian organizations.
“Russia must immediately stop the violence, hold those responsible accountable, and remove mercenaries endangering UN peacekeepers and undermining their crucial work in support of peace and security in the CAR,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
The US ambassador pointed out that the United Nations had provided evidence detailing abuses carried out by Russian instructors working as an arm of Russia’s Ministry of Defense in the CAR.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said the report was based on unfounded accusations, containing insufficient evidence with elements of photoshop.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, there are more than 500 Russian instructors in the CAR and are working there under a UN Security Council authorization. (ANI/Sputnik)
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
The Jordan king will be the first Arab leader to meet at the White House with President Joe Biden and his team….reports Asian Lite News
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks with King Abdullah before the Jordanian monarch’s key visit to Washington.
The king will be the first Arab leader to meet at the White House with President Joe Biden and his team.
Two Jordanian army helicopters flew to Ramallah to transport Abbas and his team to the talks.
After a one-on-one meeting in the presence of Crown Prince Hussein, Jordanian and Palestinian teams joined their leaders.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, senior Fatah official Hussein Sheikh, Palestinian intelligence service chief Majed Faraj, and senior diplomatic adviser Majdi Khalidi attended the meeting.
On the Jordanian side, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, General Intelligence Director Ahmad Hosni and other officials were present, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
Jordan’s Petra news agency said the king reiterated Jordan’s support for Palestinians “to obtain their just and legitimate rights in establishing their independent, sovereign and viable state, on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
King Abdullah stressed the need to translate the cease-fire agreement in Gaza into a permanent truce in order to pave the way for Palestinian rights, Petra said.
Abbas highlighted Jordan’s critical role in defending the rights of Palestinians in international circles.
Samir Habashneh, a former Jordanian interior minister, told Arab News that the Biden administration has yet to decide on its approach to the Palestinian conflict.
“For sure, it is different from the Trump administration’s direction and for sure it is in support of the two-state solution, but it hasn’t yet identified the alternative,” he said.
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
Habashneh, a leading member of a reform committee set up by King Abdullah, said that in a recent meeting the monarch stressed the importance of support for the two-state solution.
“The king’s strong opposition to the Trump plan played a major role in its defeat, but we need to work out the mechanism for how to move forward,” he said.
Habashneh said that he hopes Jordan can influence a Palestinian reconciliation.
“If I can whisper in the ears of our Palestinian brethren, it would be to move fast in the reconciliation process in order to block Israeli efforts to avoid dealing with the Palestinian leadership.”
Hazem Kawasmi, a Jerusalem-based political activist, told Arab News that the situation is quickly deteriorating and there is a need to “find ways to put out all these fires.”
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit.Pic credits @RHCJO
He said: “Things in Jerusalem, and especially in Silwan, with tens of homes slated for destruction, are worrying as is the internal Palestinian protests in light of the death of Nizar Banat and the attacks on peaceful Palestinian protesters by the Palestinian security.”
The family of Banat, a prominent critic of the Palestinian Authority, who died in detention on June 24, said that security forces broke into his house in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and hit him repeatedly with a metal rod before arresting him.
Oraib Rantawi, director of Al-Quds Center for Political Affairs, told Arab News that the Biden administration is stepping up its coordination with Jordan and Egypt, while “Trump and his people gave preference to the Gulf countries, and disregarded Jordan and Egypt.”
Jordan king holds talks with Abbas ahead of Biden summit
Rantawi said: “I expect that the internal situation is worrying Jordan, and Abbas will most certainly receive friendly advice from King Abdullah on the need to address internal issues that have weakened Abbas and his administration.”
Lamis Andoni, a longtime observer of Jordanian-Palestinian relations, told Arab News: “What is happening in Jerusalem, and its effects on the region and the future, will be an important topic discussed between them.”
Trump’s policies were a major problem for both Jordan and Palestine, she added.
“The policies of the previous US administration gave legitimacy to Israel to increase its expansion into Palestinian lands,” Andoni said.
She said that the Jordan visit is intended to strengthen Abbas’ standing amid growing protests and criticism directed at the Palestinian leader, she said.
Rouhai also claimed that allegations against Tehran were baseless…reports Asian Lite News
Outgoing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the present US government still follows the anti-Tehran economic pressure policies adopted by former President Donald Trump.
Iran “has been facing an economic terrorism since three years ago. What Trump did against Iran was more a war than sanctions,” Rouhani said in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
He added that Trump’s successor Joe Biden “continues committing his crimes”, reports Xinhua news agency.
Rouhai also claimed that allegations against Tehran were baseless and added that the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is a “document highlighting the fact that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons”, state media IRNA reported.
In May 2018, Trump withdrew from the deal and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Iran.
In response, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the agreement from May 2019.
Since April 6, Iran and the P4+1, namely the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany, with the indirect involvement of the US, have conducted six rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital aimed at reviving the JCPOA.
Despite progresses in the negotiations, the parties have announced that some “serious” differences were yet to be resolved.
At the end of the latest round of talks, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi had said that it was the time for the parties to make their “decisions” over the remaining issues.
People familiar with the case said the charges were related to allegations of unpaid taxes on benefits for Trump Organization executives, reports Asian Lite News
A grand jury in Manhattan has filed criminal indictments on Wednesday against former US President Donald Trump’s company and its longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, according to two people familiar with the indictments.
According to Washington Post, the indictments against the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, will remain sealed until Thursday afternoon, leaving the specific charges against them unclear. People familiar with the case said the charges were related to allegations of unpaid taxes on benefits for Trump Organization executives.
Weisselberg is expected to surrender on Thursday morning at the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R Vance Jr, two people familiar with the plan said. The Trump Organization will also be arraigned, represented in court by one of its attorneys.
The case against Trump Organization and Weisselberg represents a dramatic turn in the long-running probes. In an interview on Fox News, Trump called the myriad investigations and impeachments against him “all nonsense”.
“New York radical left prosecutors come after me — you gotta fight,” he said.
Trump himself is not expected to be charged this week, the people said, and no others in his orbit are expected to face imminent charges. But the indictments could mark a significant escalation in his legal problems — both by exposing his company to potential fines and by raising the pressure on Weisselberg, according to Washington Post.
Weisselberg, who has worked for Trump since the 1980s, is considered the most important figure in the Trump Organization. He has been involved in even minor financial transactions, including coordinating Trump’s personal gifts to charity.
Weisselberg was a key figure in the investigations by Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as both are trying to determine whether Trump broke the law by misleading lenders or taxing authorities, or by evading taxes on forgiven debts or fringe benefits for employees, according to court papers and people familiar with the cases.
Michael Cohen, who spent years as Trump’s attorney and his aggressive defender, turned on Trump in 2018 after coming under investigation himself and pleaded guilty to making hush-money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign to women who said they’d had affairs with Trump years before.
Vance’s office opened an investigation in 2018, responding to Cohen’s charges that Trump had directed the illegal payoffs, Washington Post reported.
Trump and his organization have never faced criminal charges, but he has been the target of civil lawsuits from the office of the New York attorney general. In one case, he was sued for allegedly defrauding students at Trump University.
That case and others against Trump University ended with Trump paying a USD 25 million settlement in 2016. In 2018, Trump was sued for misusing money in a charity he controlled, a case that resulted in a judge ordering Trump to pay USD 2 million in damages. (ANI)
Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain — and Switzerland have cleared the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, reports Asian Lite News
Seven European Union countries – Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain – and Switzerland have cleared the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield amid travel pass row, sources have said.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU’s top medical body, has approved only four vaccines so far – Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty, US pharma giant Moderna’s Covid vaccine, AstraZeneca shot manufactured and sold in Europe as Vaxzervria, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen. Only those who’ve been given these shots are granted vaccination passports, and allowed to travel hassle-free amid the pandemic.
Covishield, manufactured in India by the world’s largest manufacture Serum Institute of India – in partnership with the Oxford University and AstraZeneca – is not on the list. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is also not on the EMA list.
The EU does, however, also say “member states may decide to extend this (the certificate) also to EU travellers that received another vaccine”.
Under these rules, Indians – vaccinated with Covishield or Covaxin – may be subject to quarantine if they travel to the EU nations, unless these vaccines are cleared by the respective countries.
On Wednesday, sources in the foreign ministry said India will begin a reciprocal policy when it comes to exemption from quarantine. This would mean that unless the European Union accepts Covishield and Covaxin certificates, their certificates will not be accepted in the country and people from EU will face mandatory quarantine upon arrival in India.
Adar Poonawalla on Wednesday said the Serum Institute is hoping the European drug regulators will approve Covishield in a few weeks.
The Serum Institute has applied through AstraZeneca, Mr Poonawalla said at at the India Global Forum, according to reports; and it was “just a matter of time” since the vaccine was approved by the World Health Organization and the UK’s health care regulator.
Earlier on Monday, he had tweeted: “I realise that a lot of Indians who have taken Covishield are facing issues with travel to the E.U., I assure everyone, I have taken this up at the highest levels and hope to resolve this matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries. (sic)”
Last month, the Indian government had opposed to the idea of a “vaccine passports” at a meeting of health ministers from G7 countries.
“Expressed India’s concern and strong opposition to “vaccine passport” at this juncture of the pandemic. With vaccine coverage as a percentage of population in developing countries still low compared to developed countries, such an initiative could prove to be highly discriminatory. (sic)” Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had tweeted after the meeting.
US, Israel and India unleashing their firepower and economic power has backfired, writes Taha Coburn-Kutay
I understand two languages in which world matters are defined — politics and economics. In the recent past, the US wanted to dominate China and started the trade war, fortunately, or unfortunately which it is losing, depending on which side of the prism you look.
Before that India took the step of abrogation of Article 370, obviously with the backing of the US. This nexus also includes Israel which has been the steering captain of the ship with the help of Jared Kushner. He is the key person in getting US, Israel, and India together.
Unleashing the firepower and economic power for all three countries has backfired. You will wonder how?
First, the failure of the US in bringing stability in South America has created chaos in Venezuela and Guyana. Venezuela is on the boil because the US wants to cripple its economy although Venezuela has new-found oil reserves greater than the Gulf.
Similarly, Guayana has new-found oil reserves which are also greater than of the Gulf. Now, you must wonder why did the US decide to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, obviously to focus their energies on Venezuela to destabilize it and take control of Guyana.
Exxon Mobil has already started drilling and pulling crude offshore Guyana. In the recent election, the socialist party lost creating havoc in Guyana and no stable government is in place. Although every citizen of Guyana is supposed to receive $5000 per annum as royalty for the new-found oil.
Now, you will wonder why is the same package not available to Venezuela because it’s under sanctions and cannot sell oil. The nexus behind Venezuela is Russia, China and Iran. If you look up the oil indices you will see that Venezuelan crude when mixed with Iran crude makes a very sweet mix, not in the literal terms but oil terms. If we start putting two and two together, my theory of politics and economics starts making sense. When tensions arose between Iran and Saudi Arabia, who was called to the table to defuse the situation, it was Pakistan. You will wonder why it was because Pakistan enjoys a healthy relationship with Saudi Arabia, China, Russia, and Iran.
Although the black sheep in this sequence is Saudi Arabia. The strategic importance of Pakistan for China, Russia, and Iran is of utmost importance. We are oblivious to this reason which is CPEC. This is the background to what I’m about to tell you.
We fast forward to the situation when Covid-19 started making the news in late 2019. It was at this time I had started to see the strategy which was going to be employed by China to change the geography of the region. I will substantiate this by a similar situation in the mid-eighties but with economic strength. At this time Pakistan was economically stronger than India and had the full backing of the US because of the Afghan war. On the other hand, India was weak and overcoming the death of Indira Gandhi. Pakistan taking advantage of the situation launched the operation in Kashmir to change the demography and geography of the region, which is still suffering. India’s foreign reserves were as low as a billion dollars and it couldn’t afford to fight Pakistan openly also knowing Pakistan had the backing of the US.
Fast forward to 2019 and the whole equation had changed. Pakistan was economically weak not even a billion dollars in reserves with no back of the US. Whereas India economically strong and had the backing of the US, abrogated article 370.
Modi-Biden
This is when China and Pakistan came to terms and to the table to strategize a situation whether knowing or unknowingly that this calamity of a pandemic is coming. In a matter of months, India has become economically weak and politically unstable, if you are following Indian politics closely.
China, on the other hand, has made more billionaires in the Covid-19 situation than in normal times. This is where China has struck and in my opinion, will not back down. India in the next two weeks will overtake the world in both Covid cases and deaths.
The government has no idea how to kick start the economy and this will lead to more political instability. China will increase the pressure and may open two more fronts in eastern India from the state of Arunachal Pradesh and on the western front to Gilgit, Baltistan. India doesn’t have the firepower or money to support this kind of an adventure, hence this might lead to the change on geography in this part of the world forever.
Oil fields
At this time do not forgot your beloved Saudi Arabia because it is hatching a plan with Israel and the US to start an adventure with Iran. Iran is facing a second wave of Covid and its worse than the first wave. This is giving further strength to Saudi Arabia to plan the adventure which may lead to geography being changed in the middle east but to the contrary of Saudi Arabia losing ground.
You all are seeing what is happening in the US although I cannot see a geographical or territorial change but there is an immense mind/psychological change coming in the US. This second time around I cannot see Trump win whereas the last time my prediction was spot on.
Israel is another day’s topic.
The world is going to see a lot of changes so we should all be prepared.
(Disclaimer: Opinion expressed within this article are the personal opinion of the author)
Chinese President Xi Jinping (Source twitter@ChinaAmbUN) (3)
President Xi Jinping said that China will elevate its armed forces to world-class standards with the aim to equip itself with “greater capacity” to safeguard its “national sovereignty, security, and development interests”, a report by Asian Lite
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) marked 100 years on Thursday, President Xi Jinping hailed China’s “irreversible” course from colonial humiliation to great-power status at the centenary celebrations.
The CCP was founded in July 1921, in a small room in Shanghai’s then French-controlled district, with a mere 13 people in attendance. Today, it has more than 95 million members, almost 7 per cent of the country’s population, reported CNN.
Xi, who is chairman of the Central Military Commission and general secretary of the CPC’s Central Committee, said the “era of China being bullied is gone forever” praising the party for raising incomes and restoring national pride.
Xi, wearing a Mao-style jacket, was speaking above the giant portrait of Mao Zedong which dominates Tiananmen Square, said the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical course” and vowed to continue to build a “world-class” military to defend national interests.
The podium from where Xi was speaking was the same place where Mao proclaimed the foundation of the People’s Republic of China on the October 1, 1949.
In the meeting where the CCP was born, only two men were present at the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – former Presidents Mao Zedong and Dong Biwu. The PRC came into existence on October 1, 1949, after a bloody civil war with nationalist party Kuomintang’s (KMT) leader Chiang Kai-shek. Since its formation, it has been redefining its boundaries, culminating in tensions with its neighbours.
The Chinese government occupied Tibet in 1950, destroying 98 per cent of the monasteries and nunneries, and has ever since tried to control the region. More than 1 million people have been killed in Tibet by Chinese forces. During a meeting, Mao had told the 14th Dalai Lama, that “religion is poison.”
Under Mao’s regime, farmers were made to leave to their fields to make steel for build the machinery required for industrialisation. Despite his promises of a “Great Leap Forward”, a massive famine swept China, devastating the country and killing as many as 30 million people.
Mao also claimed that the groups opposed to communist ideology needed to be cleansed. As a result, mobs of students known as Red Guards attacked people whom they believed to be harbouring imperialist habits. People were tortured, abused, forced to confess and locked in makeshift camps. This ended with Mao’s death in 1976, CNN highlighted.
Under Deng Xiaoping’s regime, China witnessed the worst episode of stifling free speech, when the death of a popular Chinese politician sparked nationwide pro-democracy protests, including the largest one in Tiananmen Square.
On June 4, the Chinese military opened fire on the protesting citizens, killing at least 241 people, although human rights groups have estimated that thousands could have been killed in Beijing alone, according to CNN. The incident led to sanctions and international condemnation.
Since the massacre, the CCP has silenced calls for democracy and civil liberties.
In 2012, Xi took power as the Chinese President and became one of the most powerful leaders of the country. Under his regime, almost two million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been detained in internment camps in Xinjiang since 2017.
After years of denying the existence of the internment camps in Beijing, China in 2019 described the facilities as residential training centres that provide vocational training for Uyghurs, discourage radicalisation and help protect the country from terrorism.
However, several media reports and former detainees have said that those in the camps are detained against their will and subjected to political indoctrination, routinely face rough treatment at the hands of their overseers and endure poor diets and unhygienic conditions in the often overcrowded facilities. Former detainees have also described being subjected to torture, rape, sterilization, and other abuses while in custody.
China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, with a handful of countries, the latest being Lithuania, terming the human rights abuses on the ethnic minorities as ‘genocide’.
The communist nation is also under fire after the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected and killed millions of people around the world. Many countries have called for a greater investigation in China’s Wuhan to uncover the origins of the deadly virus.
It has also been locked in tensions with its neighbours, such as Japan, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan regarding the South China Sea, over which it claims full sovereignty and has passed a controversial law allowing it to fire upon any vessel it sees entering illegally into its waters.
Elevating Chinese military
President Xi said that China will elevate its armed forces to world-class standards with the aim to equip itself with “greater capacity” to safeguard its “national sovereignty, security, and development interests.”
Addressing the marking the centenary of CCP, Xi said that “We must accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.”
Xi said the “people’s military is a strong pillar for safeguarding the socialist country and preserving national dignity.”
On a bellicose note, the Chinese president added that any attempt to divide the Party from the Chinese people or to set the people against the Party is bound to fail.
“The more than 95 million Party members and the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people will never allow such a scenario to come to pass,” Xi said.
He further said that resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a historic mission and an “unshakable commitment” of the CPC.
“We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward ‘Taiwan independence,’ and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation,” the Chinese President said.
China has also recently sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, even though the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Strengthening jurisdiction on HK, Macao
President Xi also stressed on ensuring that the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao.
Xi, also the chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, said: “We will stay true to the letter and spirit of the principle of One Country, Two Systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong, and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy,” he said.
He also highlighted implementing the legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for the two special administrative regions to safeguard national security.
“While protecting China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, we will ensure social stability in Hong Kong and Macao, and maintain lasting prosperity and stability in the two special administrative regions,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. (ANI/other agency inputs)
Countries have employed innovative technologies throughout the pandemic to support the implementation of public health and social measures…reports Asian Lite News.
Despite steady progress in the coronavirus vaccine distribution across the European Union, many member states still report limited drug supply as the main issue in their efforts to battle the pandemic, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) told Sputnik.
According to the agency, the overall numbers of distributed and administered vaccines have been stable over the past weeks and the progress in the vaccination rollout has been steady across the EU. As much as 27 million doses were administered last week, while another 32 million doses were delivered to the EU countries in the same time period, the ECDC noted.
As of June 20, almost 58% of the EU population have received at least one vaccine dose and 35% have been fully immunized, the agency stated.
“Nevertheless, quite a few countries still reported that limited vaccine supply remains the main issue they are facing,” the ECDC said, adding that some EU members had had to adjust priority groups or altogether suspend their vaccination programs due to the shortages.
At the same time, more countries have reported that they are no longer facing this issue, as compared to the previous months, the agency said.
Meanwhile, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have developed a tool to evaluate the public health effectiveness of contact tracing solutions, according to a statement.
The tool, described as an indicator framework, will provide countries with a standardised approach for evaluating their use of digital proximity tracing solutions, Xinhua news agency quoted the ECDC statement issued on Monday as saying.
It will also assess the extent to which these solutions have aided national contact tracing strategies for Covid-19, the statement noted.
Countries have employed innovative technologies throughout the pandemic to support the implementation of public health and social measures.
Digital proximity tracing, by using smartphones or other devices to capture anonymised interactions between individuals and which would then issue alerts, emerged as a new means of support for contact tracing programs.
“This new indicator framework offers countries a standardized approach to gather the evidence and assess the contribution that digital proximity tracing technology has made to large-scale contact tracing efforts for Covid-19,” said Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO/Europe.
“We anticipate that it will become an invaluable tool,” she added.
Vicky Lefevre, head of the ECDC Public Health Functions Unit, said that digital proximity tracing technology is a new tool for a new challenge.
It is vital to evaluate its public health effectiveness in order to understand how best to use this technology right now as well as for future pandemics, Lefevre concluded. (ANI/Sputnik/IANS)
Nearly 20 diplomats in seven countries, according to reports, are opposing the military junta for ousting popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February this year and resorting to violence against civilians, reports Rahul Kumar
In an unprecedented situation, 11 Myanmarese diplomats in the US and Switzerland have refused to return home in a mark of protest against the country’s military rule while others continue to defy the military regime.
Kyodo News reports that Myanmar Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun said that nearly 20 diplomats in seven countries are opposing the military junta for ousting popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February this year and resorting to violence against civilians.
Kyaw Moe Tun, who plans to stay in the US instead of going back to Myanmar, said that four Washington diplomats and three in Los Angeles are applying for protected status. He added that four in Geneva also plan to request Swiss authorities to allow them to stay back in Switzerland.
Former Indian diplomat, Achal Malhotra told India Narrative: “It is noteworthy that Myanmar diplomats have revolted in the USA and Switzerland which are relatively liberal in entertaining requests for asylum.”
He added that in such adversarial circumstances as prevail now in Myanmar, some diplomats, particularly if they fear persecution on return to their home country, may openly oppose their government.
“It can be as part of a build-up for their case for asylum in the host country or such acts can be triggered by genuine ideological reasons or by sheer opportunism,” says Malhotra.
He added that as a rule and as per established norms, diplomats are expected to build a positive image of their country abroad and defend their country’s policies, besides promoting and strengthening bilateral ties and protecting the rights of the diaspora in the host country.
Talking about India, he said: “A former Indian diplomat in Oslo had resigned and sought asylum in Norway to register his protest against Operation Blue Star undertaken by the Indian Government to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984”.
As Myanmar hurtles towards a civil war-like situation, pro-democracy youth are gravitating towards an armed struggle. Many have joined the numerous armed groups that dot the diverse ethnic landscape of the country.
In Myanmar, besides the diplomats, national soccer goalkeeper Pyae Lyan Aung too is opposing the military regime. He applied for refugee status in Japan expressing threats to his life.
The military regime has detained thousands of civilian and political protestors and an estimated 883 people are believed to be dead in protests against the military rule.
2000 detainees freed
Myanmar has released a total of 2,296 detainees from across the country, according to the figures released by the military-run State Administration Council (SAC).
The detainees, comprising 1,839 men and 457 women arrested in connection with the protests staged in the country since the February 1 coup, were released as a priority batch on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
A total of 721 people from Yangon region, 711 from Mandalay region and 22 from Nay Pyi Taw were among the released.
This latest development comes after U Zaw Htay, who served as the spokesman of the Aung San Suu Kyi-led ousted government of Myanmar, was freed from military custody in capital Nay Pyi Taw after more than four months in detention.
The former military officer, who had also served as spokesman for the U Thein Sein government (2010-15) that preceded the Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government which was ousted following the coup, was released late last month.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 858 people have been killed and almost 6,000 others have been arrested in the protests that erupted since the military takeover.
