Beyond COP27, Egypt is working towards a 2050 national climate strategy, which is based around the reduction of emissions in all sectors…reports Asian Lite News
Regional authorities in Egypt, the host country of the 2022 UN climate conference (COP27), are ramping up initiatives designed to improve the country’s environmental credentials, and speed up its transition to a low carbon economy. The event will begin on 4 November, in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
Several COP27-related initiatives are underway in Egypt: they include projects related to sustainable transport, waste recycling, women’s health, the transition to clean energy, sustainable cities, adaptation measures in the water and agriculture sector, and the links between peace and climate.
“The Egyptian Government recognizes the huge responsibility of organizing a successful conference,” says Dr. Samir Tantawy, a climate change expert at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). “The summit needs to demonstrate the damage caused by the climate crisis, particularly in developing countries. For example, the Aswan Governorate, in southern Egypt, has experienced storms, snow and heavy rain for the first time. Developing countries need to be properly compensated.”
Beyond COP27, Egypt is working towards a 2050 national climate strategy, which is based around the reduction of emissions in all sectors, and adaptation to potential changes in the climate – in agriculture, water resources, coastal areas, and health.
The national strategy also aims to bring civil society, the government, and citizens together, at the local, regional, and national levels. A number of civil society organizations are participating in workshops and seminars to raise awareness of the summit, in the hope that it will help Egypt to achieve its climate strategy goals.
In preparation for the Climate Summit, the regional authorities in the Red Sea Governorate, in cooperation with a number of other state organizations, is holding a series of events aimed at raising awareness of environmental and sustainability concerns. These workshops will continue through to November, and the opening of the Conference.
Egypt’s hosting of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh is seen as a great opportunity to promote international climate action, and to unify the demands of African and developing countries, particularly when it comes to issues of financing, and adaptation to the effects of climate change.
UN News will provide full coverage of COP27, including news and features, and a daily episodes of our flagship news podcast The Lid Is On. Subscribe on all major podcast platforms.
It did not name the country whose defense and nuclear capabilities were cited in the document…reports Asian Lite News
One of the classified documents seized by the FBI at former US president Donald Trump’s Florida residence described the nuclear capabilities and military defenses of a foreign power, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, said that some of the documents found in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence were so highly classified that only the president and cabinet or near-cabinet level officials would be cleared to authorize other government officials to access them.
It did not name the country whose defense and nuclear capabilities were cited in the document.
According to the Post, such documents require special clearances on a need-to-know basis, rather than a generic top-secret clearance.
There were no details as to where in the residence, which also serves as a private members club, the highly sensitive material was found, or under what type of security.
Trump is facing mounting legal pressure, with the Justice Department saying top secret documents were “likely concealed” to obstruct an FBI probe into Trump’s potential mishandling of classified materials.
When agents searched the Mar-a-Lago resort on August 8, they found material so sensitive that “even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents,” a government court filing said.
The FBI raid came after a review of “highly classified” records that Trump finally surrendered to authorities in January after months of back and forth with the National Archives and Records Administration.
The 15 boxes handed over by Trump were found to contain 184 documents marked as confidential, secret or top secret.
After prompting from the FBI, Trump’s lawyer eventually turned over an additional 38 classified documents — and provided “sworn certification” that they represented the last of the material.
But the FBI went on to uncover “multiple sources of evidence” showing classified documents remained at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump media deal suffers blow
The blank-check acquisition firm that agreed to merge with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media company failed on Tuesday to secure enough shareholder support for a one-year extension to complete the deal.
At stake is a $1.3 billion cash infusion that Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which operates the Truth Social app, stands to receive from Digital World Acquisition Corp, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that inked a deal in October to take TMTG public.
The transaction has been on ice amid civil and criminal probes into the circumstances around the deal. Digital World had been hoping that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is reviewing its disclosures on the deal, would have given its blessing by now.
Digital World Chief Executive Patrick Orlando told a special meeting of his shareholders on Tuesday he would push back to noon on Thursday the deadline for the vote on extending the life of the SPAC by 12 months.
Digital World needs 65% of its shareholders to vote in favor of the proposal, but the support as of late Monday fell far short, Reuters reported. Digital World did not disclose the margin on Tuesday.
Digital World shares ended trading in New York on Tuesday down 11.4% at $22.13.
Digital World is set to liquidate on Thursday and return the money raised in its September 2021 initial public offering to shareholders unless action is taken.
Digital World shareholders had been given more than two weeks to vote on the SPAC’s extension and it is unclear if two additional days will make a difference. Most Digital World shareholders are individuals and getting them to vote through their brokers has been challenging, Orlando said last week.
Digital World said in a statement that if its shareholders do not approve the one-year extension on Thursday, its management plans to exercise its right to extend the life of the SPAC by three months unilaterally. The SPAC managers will lend $2.875 million to the SPAC as part of the arrangement, Digital World said.
The SPAC managers have the right to unilaterally extend the life of the SPAC one more time, till March. It is unclear whether this would provide enough time for regulators to reach a conclusion on whether to allow the deal to proceed.
A TMTG spokesperson said the company will continue cooperating with all stakeholders on the merger and that it hoped “the SEC staff will expeditiously conclude its review free from political interference.”
An SEC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump appeared to manage expectations for the deal with a post over the weekend on Truth Social: “I don’t need financing, ‘I’m really rich!’ Private company anyone???”
Digital World has disclosed that the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and federal prosecutors have been investigating the deal with TMTG, though the exact scope of the probes is unclear.
The information sought by regulators includes Digital World documents on due diligence of potential targets other than TMTG, relationships between Digital World and other entities, meetings of Digital World’s board, policies and procedures relating to trading, and the identities of certain investors, Digital World has said.
A label of “state sponsor of terrorism” by Washington, has wide-ranging ramifications, with many businesses and banks unwilling to incur the risk of legal action by US prosecutors…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday said it would be counterproductive to brand Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism,” rejecting calls from Ukraine and lawmakers to take the far-reaching action.
Biden, asked by a reporter on Monday if he would blacklist Russia as a terrorist state, said simply, “no,” after months of non-committal answers from senior officials.
Asked Tuesday whether a decision had been made, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a terrorism designation was “not the most effective or strongest path forward” to “hold Russia accountable.”
She said the designation would hamper aid delivery to parts of war-ravaged Ukraine or prevent aid groups and companies from participating in a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to ship badly needed grain from Ukraine’s blockaded ports.
“It would also undercut our unprecedented multilateral (coalition) that has been so effective to holding Putin accountable and could also undermine our ability to support Ukraine” in negotiations, she told reporters.
A label of “state sponsor of terrorism” by the United States, the world’s largest economy, has wide-ranging ramifications, with many businesses and banks unwilling to incur the risk of legal action by US prosecutors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the West to label Russia formally as a terrorist state following a series of attacks that killed civilians, notably a strike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk in June in which at least 18 people died.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, asked about Biden’s decision, said the lack of a designation now “does not mean that it can never be made.”
“We are grateful to the US for everything they continue to do for Ukraine, but on this particular issue, we will not back down and will continue to insist on our position, as it will be the right decision indeed,” he said.
Stepping up pressure
At the United Nations, Ukraine’s envoy also renewed calls for the designation as he lamented Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying Moscow was deliberately trying to raise dangers.
“This can be corrected only by strengthening sanctions — only by officially recognizing Russia as a terrorist state at all levels,” Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the UN Security Council.
Latvia’s parliament in August declared Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism,” saying it was carrying out “genocide” against Ukrainians, but French President Emmanuel Macron in June also explicitly ruled out the label.
Lawmakers across party lines including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have urged Biden to brand Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, seeing it as a way to step up pressure after months of economic sanctions over Moscow’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
The United States only brands four nations as state sponsors of terrorism, all US nemeses with much smaller economies than Russia’s — Iran, Syria, North Korea and Cuba.
Cuba was added controversially back to the list in the final days of former president Donald Trump’s administration, which took a hardline approach to the communist-ruled island.
The Biden administration on taking office reversed a Trump decision to brand Yemen’s Iranian-backed Huthi rebels as a terrorist group, also out of concern for hampering aid.
US step up Russian aluminium, nickel imports
The European Union and United States have ramped up buying key industrial metals from Russia, data showed, despite logistical problems spurred by the war in Ukraine and tough talk about starving Moscow of foreign exchange revenue.
The metal shipments highlight the West’s difficulty in pressuring Russia’s economy, which has performed better than expected and seen its rouble currency surge as buoyant oil revenue has helped offset the impact of sanctions.
EU and U.S. imports of Russia’s main base metal products aluminium and nickel during March-June increased by as much as 70%, official trade data compiled by Reuters from the United Nations Comtrade database show.
The total value of EU and US imports of the two metals from March to June were $1.98 billion, the data showed.
The West has imposed repeated waves of sanctions on a wide range of Russian products, people and institutions, but has largely spared the industrial metals sector.
A US State Department spokesperson said in response to a query from Reuters: “Although we don’t preview our sanctions actions, nothing is off the table to increase the price on Putin’s unjustified war against Ukraine.”
The European Commission did not provide a comment after a request.
Analysts said the United States and Europe have learned lessons after huge disruption on construction, auto and power sectors caused by sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump on Russian aluminium 2018.
Those sanctions were lifted the following year.
Prices of both metals surged to record peaks shortly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 on fears that sanctions or difficult logistics would block shipments.
But those fears were unfounded, since the data show Russian exports during March to June were relatively strong.
“Market mechanisms are working,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke, referring to Russian metals shipments.
“We know from commodity traders it’s mainly a question of the price. It’s not so much about some politician not wanting you to buy, but is there a deal here.”
Economists who have been relentlessly critiquing the Indian economy are stumped that they failed to foresee Britain’s, and indeed much of the West’s, woes, writes Anurag Singh Thakur
It may be coincidental, but it is nonetheless of profound satisfaction for every Indian that India has surpassed Britain to emerge as the world’s fifth largest economy in the 75th year of its independence from British colonial rule.
This achievement also comes at a time when Britain is struggling to shore up its plummeting economy and firefighting soaring inflation which has pushed up cost of living to levels never imagined by the UK, Europe and the West.
Economists who have been relentlessly critiquing the Indian economy are stumped that they failed to foresee Britain’s, and indeed much of the West’s, woes. To paraphrase French President Emmanuel Macron, the days of abundance are truly over for them. And they could just about be beginning for us.
Bloomberg, which first broke the news of India surpassing Britain to become the world’s fifth largest economy, contextualised it in colonial terms of a coloniser being left behind by its erstwhile colony. The Emperor was stripped of both empire and glory long ago; over a period of time Great Britain shrank into little England; but its economy remained strong and the UK firmly held its place in the list of top five economies.
Offensive as the colonial reference in the Bloomberg report no doubt was, it also underscored how a country that was left battered, bruised and bleeding by its British rulers in 1947, had steadily risen to reclaim that which was lost: economic prosperity and clout.
It would be in order to reiterate that the British colonisation of India was essentially about the economic exploitation of this country and the transfer of wealth from India to Britain. Seventy-five years ago, when the Tricolour replaced the Union Jack on 15 August 1947, India’s share of the world GDP had fallen from 24.4 per cent in 1700 to a paltry 3 per cent. Britain prospered while India was pushed further into poverty.
It is important to recall these numbers to understand the stunning rise of India in the last eight years which have seen Prime Minister Narendra Modi making major policy shifts to put the national economy in top gear and making up for the lost decades when successive Governments dallied with Soviet era-style state control and grossly underestimated the potential of Indian enterprise, choosing to ignore aspirations for restrictions.
In 2014, Prime Minister Modi buried the past and launched a future that would address the many aspirations of Indians, unleash their potential, and place this great nation on a trajectory of growth while ensuring that the last person in the last row is a beneficiary of a wealthier and prosperous India. These eight years have witnessed the impact of the steady changes brought about by PM Modi, making the India Story the most relevant in the world.
Statistics by themselves tend to tell a partial story. India has emerged as the fifth largest economy in terms of nominal GDP clocking in at 13.5 per cent in the first quarter of FY 2023. If we were to factor in purchasing power parity, India’s GDP makes it the world’s third largest economy, behind the US and China. All available indices and projections suggest that while the GDP of others will either stagnate or decline, India’s will continue to rise. Which means India will maintain its lead and increase the pace of closing existing gaps.
The two successive Covid19 pandemic years severely impacted India’s economy, as they did economies globally. They were years of adversities which PM Modi converted into opportunities. His foresight prevented India from going the way of others by splurging money and squandering resources. Instead, he opted for a cautious and prudent approach, targeting expenditure on job-generating infrastructure projects and promoting incentive-based schemes for industry to regain momentum.
The Production Linked Incentive scheme worth Rs 2 lakh crore has begun to show results. These measures came in the backdrop of PM Modi ensuring a vastly improved ease of doing business, policy stability, revised labour laws, and a hugely popular and the world’s largest digital payment system, apart from leveraging India’s technology pool, encouraging start-ups and unicorns, and directly engaging with global investors and industries.
While the emphasis was no doubt on getting the economy back on rails and pushing for a rise in GDP which had taken a beating during the lockdown years, PM Modi did not forget those who bore the brunt of the pandemic – the poor and the underprivileged. The world’s largest free food programme with almost two-thirds of India’s population receiving free rations, coupled with the world’s largest Covid19 vaccination drive, helped India’s economy to recover from the pandemic’s ravages and gain both speed and scale.
In 1947, India was a disinherited nation. As we enter the 25 years leading up to 100 years of freedom, our nation’s ‘Amrit Kaal’, we stand stronger and more prosperous. Today India is the world’s leading consumer of smartphone data, it ranks second in terms of Internet users, and it is the world’s third largest consumer market clocking in at number two on the Global Retail Index.
The very fact that India is the third largest consumer of energy underscores its booming economy. From importing Lancashire products 75 years ago, there has been spectacular rise in the export of Indian textiles. We are now robust participants in global trade, surpassing previous export records and touching Rs 50 lakh crore this year. Our merchandise export has crossed Rs 31 lakh crore. A country that once lived on the mercy of PL 480, exports food to the world today.
The list of Modi Government’s success stories is long. It would suffice to mention that more than 100 billion-dollar companies have been created and new companies are being added every month. The valuation of unicorns created in the last eight years is Rs 12 lakh crore. Under PM Modi’s indefatigable leadership, India has grown from a few hundred to 70,000 start-ups.
Yet, growth and prosperity have not been uneven: 50 per cent of the start-ups are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Much of these successes are driven by the Digital India revolution ushered in by PM Modi. In 2014, India had 6.5 crore broadband subscribers; today, there are more than 78 crore subscribers. The introduction of GST has served entrepreneurs well while plugging gaping holes in tax collection.
But India is not merely about chrome and glass malls showcasing its rising prosperity. Nobody understands this better than PM Modi. Hence his focus has been on reducing poverty, which is happening. A recent IMF study tells us how extreme poverty and consumption inequality have sharply declined. Housing and healthcare for the poor have had a remarkable impact on social development indices, as have a slew of schemes ranging from providing subsidised LPG to the underprivileged, to bringing potable water on tap in every rural household.
Mudra loans and other associated programmes have given a push to self-employment opportunities that not only create micro enterprises but also generate jobs. Compared to global energy price increases, India is better placed; the post-pandemic turbulence has least impacted ease of living.
PM Modi’s vision of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat’ has slowly but steadily taken shape and form. It is a vision that involves both Government and people – a joint effort, or ‘Sabka Prayas’.
This Bharat is self-confident and ‘atmanirbhar’, ready to meet challenges and overcome adversities. Crossing the twin milestones of emerging as the fifth largest economy and the fastest growing economy is no doubt a stupendous achievement for India and Indians. From this point on we begin our journey on the road to achieving PM Modi’s goal of creating a $5 trillion economy. It can now be said confidently that India shall cross this milestone too in the next two years. It’s happening.
(Anurag Singh Thakur is the Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India)
Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade has grown from $9 billion to $18 billion in the last five years…reports Asian Lite News
India and Bangladesh signed seven Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) in New Delhi on Tuesday aimed at boosting ties between the two countries.
The MoUs, signed after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, are related to water sharing, railways, space, science and judiciary.
Prime Minister Modi said that the trade between the two countries is rapidly increasing, adding that: “We have decided to extend cooperation in the IT, space and nuclear sectors.”
The pacts inked between the two countries will benefit southern parts of Assam in India and the Sylhet region in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Modi said.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, he welcomed Hasina at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where she was accorded the ceremonial Guard of Honour.
Following the signing of the MoUs, senior officials from both sides exchanged the agreements.
Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs tweeted: “Powering the India-Bangladesh partnership! PM @narendramodi and PM Sheikh Hasina jointly unveiled Unit-I of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project. Being constructed under India’s concessional financing scheme, the Project will add 1320 MW to Bangladesh’s National Grid.”
The Maitree Power Plant will give citizens of Bangladesh access to affordable electricity.
“Bangladesh is the biggest trade partner in the region. The people-to-people connectivity between both countries have increased. The expansion of connectivity and trade infrastructure at borders will help in the growth of both countries,” Prime Minister Modi said.
He asserted that both countries will cooperate further to mitigate the impact of floods and data will be shared in real-time for an extended period.
On counter-terrorism, the Prime Minister said: “Today we also stressed on cooperation against terrorism and fundamentalism. To keep the spirit of 1971 alive, it is also very necessary that we face such forces together, who want to attack our mutual trust.”
The Bangladesh Prime Minister last visited India in 2019.
Prime Minister Modi had visited Bangladesh in 2021 – the year that marked the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh independence and the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation and the father of Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina.
Also, in 2021, Maitri Diwas celebrations were held in 20 capitals around the world including Delhi and Dhaka.
Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy. The cooperation extends to all fields including security, trade and commerce, power and energy, transport and connectivity, science and technology, defence, rivers, maritime affairs among others.
Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade has grown from $9 billion to $18 billion in the last five years.
Bangladesh has become the fourth largest export destination for India with growth of over 66 per cent from $9.69 billion in FY 2020-21 to $16.15 billion in FY 2021-22.
Teesta water sharing issue to be resolved, says Hasina
Meanwhile, Hasina expressed hope that the row over sharing water of Teesta river — a key bone of contention between her country and India — will be resolved soon.
“Both the countries have resolved several long-standing issues keeping the spirit of cooperation and friendship in mind. I hope that all other issues, including water sharing of Teesta river, would be resolved soon,” the visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister said.
Disagreements between the two countries over the allocation of the river water has remained a subject of conflict for several decades. Many meetings held on the issue could not produce much results.
Bangladesh has been demanding an equal share in the distribution of the river water.
In this direction, a treaty was also to be signed between India and Bangladesh in 2011 during then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to the neighbouring country.
However, the agreement could not be inked due to stiff opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Hasina, who is on a four-day tour to India, said: “The water is emerging from the Indian side… Hence, India should show its large-heartedness.”
The Bangladeshi Prime Minister said she hopes that her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will look into all the issues pertaining to the bilateral relationship, including Teesta water sharing.
Along with PM Modi, who was the Chief Guest at the EEF in 2019, Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob will also send video greetings…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a video address at the plenary session of the 7th Eastern Economic Forum 2022 (EEF) in Vladivostok on Wednesday.
Ambassador of India to Russia, Pavan Kapoor is heading the delegation to EEF this time where representatives of around 46 countries are participating.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will also speak at the plenary session of the EEF, themed ‘On the Path To a Multipolar World’.
Along with Putin, the meeting will be attended by Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan; Mongolia PM Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene; Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Li Zhanshu and Min Aung Hlaing, the Chairman of Myanmar’s State Administration Council.
Along with PM Modi, who was the Chief Guest at the EEF in 2019, Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob will also send video greetings.
India condemns Russian mission attack
India on Tuesday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Russian Embassy in Kabul.
The explosion that occurred on Monday near the Consular Department gate of the Russian Embassy, left at least two embassy staffers dead and several others wounded.
“India strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Russian Embassy in Kabul yesterday. We convey our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and pray for early recovery of the injured,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.
Monday’s explosion comes days after at least 20 people were killed in a blast that rocked a mosque in northwestern Afghanistan during Friday prayers. In recent months, a number of blasts have been reported in the capital city of Kabul, claiming dozens of innocent lives.
UN mission in Afghanistan on Monday condemned the blast outside the Russian Embassy and stressed the need for the Taliban to take steps to ensure the safety and security of the people as well as diplomatic missions.
“UNAMA condemns today’s explosion outside @RusEmbassyKabul. We express our condolences to the families of those killed and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a tweet.
A Taliban spokesperson said that a comprehensive investigation had been launched into the matter and further measures will be taken to safeguard the Embassy and prevent such probable incidents in future.
“Our security has launched a comprehensive investigation, & will take further measures to safeguard the Embassy & prevent such probable incidents from hindering the Embassy’s activities,” Taliban spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote on Twitter.
Balkhi added that the Taliban-appointed government in Afghanistan has close relations with the Russian Federation and will not allow the enemies to sabotage relations between both countries with such negative actions.
After Monday’s explosion near Russian Embassy in Kabul, Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
In a phone call with Lavrov, Muttaqi assured that special attention will be given to blast in front of the Russian embassy. He ensured Lavrov the security of this embassy, TOLOnews reported quoting the Taliban spokesperson.
This series of blasts comes on the heels of one year of the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan. Rights groups said the terror outfit had broken multiple pledges to respect human and women’s rights.
After capturing Kabul in August last year, the Islamic authorities have imposed severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights, suppressed the media, and arbitrarily detained, tortured, and summarily executed critics and perceived opponents.
Azad received a rousing reception from his political associates and followers upon his arrival at the airport in Jammu. …reports Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
Days after his resignation from the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday launched his own party at a reception rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s winter capital, Jammu.
Azad received a rousing reception from his political associates and followers upon his arrival at the airport in Jammu. Later, he was taken in a rally to Sainik Farm where he addressed his first audience after dissociation from the Congress party.
The 73-year-old politician, who has served as a Union Minister, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member, Leader of Opposition in the Parliament’s Upper House and Chief Minister of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir for over 40 years, said that he was still looking for a name and flag for his party. He, nevertheless, made it clear that the name as well as the flag would be equally acceptable to the populations in Kashmir and Jammu.
According to him, there were certain names under consideration but he would pick up one with a ‘Hindustani’ texture, “neither from a Maulana’s Urdu, nor from Saint’s Sanskrit”. “My name is Ghulam Nabi. Everybody knows the religion I belong to. But, from day one of my political career, I have been dedicated equally to all religions and regions”, Azad asserted.
Azad said that the Congress party had 9 MLAs in the J&K State’s last Assembly. “Of them, 3 were from Ladakh and 6 from J&K. Of the six, five are with me and only one (new JKPCC President Vikar Rasool Wani of Banihal Jammu) is with the Congress”, Azad said. He welcomed his longtime associates, former Ministers and legislators, into his fold. “Not one of them has joined after meeting me. They all joined after resigning from the Congress party. I am highly thankful to them”, Azad said. He mentioned the names of the former Ministers, MLAs and MLCs including Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, Taj Mohiuddin, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, R.S. Chib, Thakur Balwan Singh, Choudhary Akram, Mohammad Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani, Haji Abdul Rashid, Shoib Lone as also the former PDP MLA and Minister from Pulwama Kashmir, Syed Bashir Ahmed, who were all in his reception on the dais.
“This is just the beginning of an affair. See what comes next”, Azad said while quoting a famous Urdu couplet and welcoming the PDP leader into his party. Without taking the name of the Apni Party (AP) president Altaf Bukhari, Azad said that the Kashmir politician’s diatribe against him was unwarranted and without any reason. At the same time, Azad called the National Conference president and former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah as a seasoned leader and mature politician “who didn’t utter a single word against me”.
Without mentioning any names, Azad said that some people had reduced the Congress party to just computer and Twitter. “Congress was made by us by our blood, not by computers, not by Twitter. People are trying to defame us but their reach is limited to computers and tweets. That is the reason Congress is nowhere to be seen on the ground today”, Azad said.
“I thank everyone who supported me through resignations, WhatsApp messages and other mediums from across the country since my resignation from the party. I have served the Congress party holding every position for last 53 years, but never received this much of love even when I am not on any position. Today, when I am nothing, not a Minister, not Chief Minister, not MP or Leader of Opposition, everybody is on my side”, Azad said.
Taking a jibe at Congress, Azad said that people from Congress now go to jail in buses, call DGP or Commissioners, get their names written and leave within an hour. This is the reason Congress has been unable to grow. Azad recalled the day when, as President of All India Youth Congress, he organised and led a rally of 5,000 youth Congress workers in support of Indira Gandhi from Jamia Masjid to India Gate. “On way to India Gate, we were all arrested and put in Tihar Jail. While Mrs Gandhi was released in a day, others including Azad were let off after more than a month.
Unfolding his new party’s agenda, Azad said that it would struggle for restoration of J&K’s Statehood and limiting the right to own immovable property and the government jobs “only to the insiders, not outsiders”. Without demanding restoration of Article 370 and 35-A, which were scrapped in August 2019, Azad said that Jammu and Kashmir should exist as a State with Governor, not a Union Territory with a Lieutenant Governor.
After meeting with his colleagues and followers in Jammu for four days, Azad said that he would be addressing some public meetings in Chenab valleys before entering the Kashmir valley through Sinthan Pass via Kishtwar.
The licences issued to Labbaik Private Limited were cancelled by the authority in 2017 and happened due to the non-issuance of security clearance by the Interior Ministry….reports Asian Lite News
After ARY news, Labaik Private Limited’s TV channel broadcasts were stopped on Monday with an immediate effect in light of a court order and letters written by the Ministry of Interior.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) stopped the broadcast of Labaik TV channels after its 15-year licence period expired in December 2021, reported The News International.
Moreover, the company has not submitted any application to the authority for renewal.
The 174th meeting of the PEMRA was held to review the issues related to licences issued to Bol News and Bol Entertainment.
The licences issued to Labbaik Private Limited were cancelled by the authority in 2017 and happened due to the non-issuance of security clearance by the Interior Ministry.
The PEMRA’s order was pending with the Sindh High Court on behalf of the company and the channels continued their broadcasts. However, the SHC disposed of the pending case in 2021.
During the hearing, the PEMRA’s counsel made it clear that if the Interior Ministry did not issue a security clearance to Labbaik Private Limited, it would not be allowed to broadcast its two channels, according to The News International.
Therefore, the authority reviewed all the records of the court order and the letters issued by the Ministry of Interior and ordered stop the broadcast of the two channels with immediate effect.
Earlier, on August 9, ARY News was suspended in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Hyderabad, Faisalabad and other cities.
However, after 23 days of being suspended, the transmission of ARY News has been restored in several cities following the orders of the Islamabad High Court.
The channel is back on air in several cities of the country including Islamabad, Lahore and Sukkur complete restoration is still pending. The Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has also restored the channel in Lahore and Karachi, ARY News reported.
The development comes after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed PEMRA to restore transmission of ARY NEWS on cable in an hour and warned action against the chairman of the regulatory authority in case of non-compliance.
Chief Justice IHC Athar Minallah led the proceedings of a petition against the suspension of ARY News transmission on cable. He ordered Information Secretary Shahera Shahid and Pemra Chairman Saleem Baig to appear before the court on Monday and explain why the channel was taken off air on Aug 8 and why no measures were taken to restore it.
“If the channel is not restored in an hour then PEMRA chairman will have to appear before the court on Monday,” the chief justice warned.
The chief justice had taken up a petition moved by a number of journalists working for ARY Communications. The petition was moved by Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and Gohar Ali Khan on behalf of journalist Azhar Farooq and others, who said the Aug 8 suspension of ARY News transmission had put their livelihood in danger. (ANI)
The disruption comes as former PM Imran Khan made a live broadcast to the public, despite a ban issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)….reports Asian Lite News
YouTube services that were shut down briefly during Imran Khan’s Peshawar jalsa were restored on Tuesday.
Net Blocks said that its metrics showed that YouTube was disrupted on multiple internet providers in Pakistan, reported Geo News.
Internet tracker Net Blocks tweeted, “Metrics confirm that YouTube is disrupted on multiple internet providers in #Pakistan as former prime minister Imran Khan live streams; the restrictions come despite the lifting of PEMRA’s ban on Khan’s speeches by the Islamabad High Court.”
The disruption comes as former PM Imran Khan made a live broadcast to the public, despite a ban issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
Ahead of Imran Khan’s address, multiple users had started complaining streaming website was not working for them. In response to the reported blockage, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) turned to Facebook and Twitter to air its chairman’s speech.
#YouTubeDown also emerged as a top trend on the microblogging website Twitter, reported Geo News.
Imran Khan Long March Pic credits Instagram
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry claimed that the country has “officially turned into a banana republic” after barring Imran Khan’s speeches on channels and YouTube.
The blockage comes after the PTI chairman, earlier today, said he’d had enough of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) “cabal of crooks” propagating to malign him, reported Geo News.
PDM — the ruling parties who have formed the government after ousting Khan from the prime minister’s office in April — severely criticised Khan’s recent comments against the military and its top brass.
The armed forces were also livid following the PTI chairman’s Faisalabad jalsa speech, where he said that if a “patriotic” army chief were appointed, he would not spare the incumbent rulers, reported Geo News.
In response, Khan tweeted that he was following the “intense propaganda” launched by the PDM’s “cabal of crooks” against him, which stems from them being “petrified of PTI’s soaring popularity”.
“Today in [the] Peshawar jalsa, I will give [a] proper reply to all those who have deliberately been distorting my words to malign me. Enough is enough,” the former prime minister warned.
Imran Khan, who is embroiled in the political slugfest with the coalition government said Shehbaz Sharif’s government has taken media censorship to fascistic levels.
“Imported govt has taken media and journalists’ censorship and persecution to fascistic levels. Now Bol has been suspended simply because it gave us coverage. The message to all media houses is to blackout the largest & most popular national pol party from mainstream media. Unacceptable,” Khan tweeted.
Pakistan is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists, according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Under the guise of protecting journalism, Pakistani law is used to censor any criticism of the government and the armed forces. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), created in 2002, is concerned less with regulating the media sector than with regulating the
As a result of these ambiguously worded laws, journalists who cross the implicit lines dictated by the authorities are exposed to heavy administrative and criminal penalties – up to three years in prison for “sedition”, for example. (ANI)
An angry Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the UN report was “planned and manufactured first-hand by the US and some Western forces”…reports Asian Lite News
The Chinese government reacted furiously to the release of a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 31 August, calling it “wholly illegal and invalid”.
Michelle Bachelet released the 46-page report on her last day in office, in fact just 13 minutes before she stepped down from her four-year tenure. The report is titled “OHCHR Assessment of Human Rights Concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China”.
Bachelet had secretly given China preview of the report before it was published, and on the very day it was released, parts of the UN document were allegedly being rewritten to accommodate Chinese requests.
Thanks to this preview, China immediately published its own 131-page refutation. It claimed: “This so-called ‘assessment’ runs counter to the mandate” of Bachelet’s office and “distorts China’s laws and policies, wantonly smears and slanders China, and interferes in China’s internal affairs”.
An angry Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the UN report was “planned and manufactured first-hand by the US and some Western forces” and was a “hodgepodge of misinformation” and “a political tool”.
Bachelet conducted a highly contrived visit to Xinjiang in May, where she visited a decommissioned “training center” that now serves as a school and talked with a former vice-president of the center, but was not permitted to visit anything personally. Bachelet also visited Kasgar Prison, though she said most inmates there were incarcerated for reasons other than terrorism.
The Xinjiang government “assured” Bachelet that training centers were “dismantled”, though she acknowledged that she was “unable to assess full scale” of the training centers.
Section VIII of the report provided the OHCHR’s overall assessment and recommendations. It unequivocally stated: “Serious human rights violations have been committed in XUAR [Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region] in the context of the government’s application of counterterrorism and counter-‘extremism’ strategies. The implementation of these strategies, and associated policies in XUAR, has led to interlocking patterns of severe and undue restrictions on a wide range of human rights.”
It added that China’s “deeply problematic” application of domestic antiterrorism laws “has in practice led to the large-scale arbitrary deprivation of liberty of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim communities in XUAR in so-called VETC [vocational education and training centers] and other facilities, at least between 2017 and 2019. Even if the VETC system has since been reduced in scope or wound up, as the government has claimed, the laws and policies that underpin it remain in place.”
In detention facilities, “Allegations of patterns of torture or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, are credible, as are allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender-based violence.”
Indeed, Uyghurs experienced constant hunger and deprivation in these camps. Families were separated and left uninformed of the whereabouts of loved ones, including parents who were incarcerated and children sent to orphanages. There were sickening allegations of guards forcing inmates to perform oral sex, or forms of sexual humiliation such as forced nudity or group gynecological examinations.
Inmates were compelled to take pills or have injections, which typically made them drowsy. They also endured extremely invasive electronic surveillance. Furthermore, the OHCHR report found that China’s policy has put “undue restrictions on religious identity and expression, as well as the rights to privacy and movement”. Key crimes of which China stands accused are mass arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, forced labor, persecution based on ethnicity and religion, coercive birth control, and pervasive surveillance and harassment.
Indeed, the extent of China’s “arbitrary and discriminatory detention” policy “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”. Indeed, Xinjiang’s human rights situation requires “urgent attention by the government, the United Nations intergovernmental bodies and human rights system, as well as the international community more broadly”.
The phrasing “may constitute international crimes” is actually the strongest language that the UN is permitted to use until the International Criminal Court makes a ruling that widespread human rights abuses, arbitrary detention and torture have indeed occurred.
Only that particular court can declare that crimes against humanity have been committed. However, the International Criminal Court will not be given the chance. This is because China is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, and therefore the court does not have any jurisdiction over China’s alleged crimes.
The report’s strongest sections are on internment and religious freedom, although the document has shortcomings. These include comparatively short and weak sections on forced labor and birth prevention.
Quoting a diplomatic source, Adrian Zenz, a respected German academic known for his research into Chinese abuses against Uyghurs, said that the section on forced sterilization was watered down during the final hours, in response to Chinese protests, which does raise important questions about the report’s independence.
Zenz commented: “This is the clearest evidence to date that political considerations interfered in the presentation of the evidence. Birth prevention is indeed one of the weakest sections in the report and, when reading it, I was suspecting whether there may
have been interference. Beijing is especially sensitive about anything that could point to genocide allegations, which would explain that.”
In the report’s birth prevention section, it failed to include the Xinjiang’s government’s explicit aim of limiting Uyghur births. “That is the most damning evidence, together with statements on ending dominance of Uyghur population and optimizing ethnic ratios,”
Zenz concluded. The report only admitted that “coercive measures are likely to have accompanied the strict enforcement of family planning policies”. In fact, the Uyghur birth rate slumped 48.7% in the 2017-19 period, reaching a figure that was 22% below that of China’s average.
The report relies mostly on China’s own governmental records and documents to prove the human rights violations, as well as some 40 interviews with Uyghur victims. Zenz offered his personal reaction. “The report is very conservative in its use of data and the conclusions drawn from it, which, together with using Beijing’s own sources, will make it very hard for China to counter or refute it.”
The OHCHR took steps to authenticate the validity of all internal documents, lending credence to its conclusions. Examples it referred to include the so-called Xinjiang Papers, China Cables, Karakax List, Urumqi police database and Xinjiang Police Files. Its methodical and conservative methodology adds to the report’s value and authenticity.
Zenz further pointed out: “Bachelet’s visit doesn’t seem to have impacted the report, positively or negatively. There is no indication that her own very problematic assessment or Chinese state propaganda influenced the report or its conclusions. Delaying report
China blames faith of Uyghur Muslims for concentration camps in Xinjiang. (source:uyghurcongress.org)
publication over her visit was a waste.” The German academic noted that Beijing’s responses are mostly “appropriately woven into the report (often in footnotes) and, importantly, the report doesn’t indiscriminately repeat Beijing’s accusations and whitewashing”.
“Overall,” Zenz concluded, “the report is not perfect and a lot of available supporting evidence was not used. But it will provide a strong and authoritative basis going forward from here for holding Beijing accountable.” Zenz’s sentiments were shared by Vicky Xiuzhong Xu, Daria Impiombato and Nathan Ruser of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). They said in an assessment:
“While the report was long overdue and lacked strength in certain areas, its release following a four-year investigation is a positive development celebrated by victims of Xinjiang’s human rights crisis, as well as scholars, journalists and advocates around the
world who have for years sought to pour sunlight on the issue.”
ASPI found that Bachelet’s report, despite its narrow scope of research, “strongly verifies the nature of human rights abuses in Xinjiang in relation to arbitrary detention since the 2017 crackdown”. The authors added, “Ultimately, the value of an independent report by the most senior international human rights office lies in having the UN’s imprimatur on the now unassailable conclusions of industrial-scale human rights abuses, leaving no room for censorship and denial, and no excuses for a lack of concrete action.”
Bachelet admitted that “tremendous pressure” had been placed on her by all sides as to whether her report should be published. Certainly, Beijing pressurized her to bury it. Nonetheless, questions need to be asked as to why the report was delayed, and why did the UN wait so long before commissioning an investigation?
China sometimes does respond to international pressure, so a much earlier release of this UN report may have helped some incarcerated victims. Going forward, it may also help prevent some countries deporting Uyghurs back to China. Human Rights Watch is demanding that this report be formally and urgently presented to the UN Human Rights Council, while the International Labor Organization might continue its quest to launch a technical advisory mission to explore this issue of forced labor in China.
ASPI pointed out: “Bachelet’s report should serve as a stern reminder for businesses to improve the transparency and accountability of their own supply chains, and for governments to strengthen their regulatory environments to prevent copouts and workarounds.”
Countries like Canada, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, UK and USA had already branded Chinese policy in Xinjiang as “genocide”, though others such as Australia have stopped slightly short of that. Germany has been soft on China, but there are signs that the tolerance of Angela Merkel’s era is ending. Patricia Flor, Germany’s Ambassador to Beijing, issued a strongly worded public statement. She noted that the report “clearly states that the extent of detention may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.
This is not a domestic issue. Fighting terrorism cannot excuse human rights violations.” New Zealand is another country that can be wishy-washy when it comes to confronting China, but Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta tweeted, “We are particularly concerned
about arbitrary detention, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced medical treatment, widespread surveillance, violations of reproductive rights, restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, and forced labor” in Xinjiang.
Yet the National Party opposition in New Zealand undid all this when foreign affairs shadow minister Gerry Brownlee repeated all China’s talking points. In his unwelcome apology for Beijing’s pogrom, he said people had been “caught up” in China’s counterterrorism measures and that the country’s counterterror laws were no different to New Zealand’s.
In response, Anne-Marie Brady, a well-known academic at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand who speaks out against Chinese abuses, tweeted, “Let’s play spot-the-useful-idiot worldwide.”
Nor has the Muslim world’s response been any better. It can best be described as tepid. For example, in December 2018 the Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) mentioned “disturbing reports on the treatment of Uighur Muslims, and expressed hope that China, which has excellent bilateral relations with most OIC countries as well as the OIC, would address the legitimate concerns of Muslims around the world”.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia went further by actively shielding China from criticism, while Indonesia’s vice president said “we don’t want to intervene in the domestic affairs of another country”. Or what about Imran Khan’s former government in Pakistan, who claimed the Xinjiang situation had been distorted by a “faction of foreign media [who] are trying to sensationalize the matter by spreading false information”? The eventual release of Bachelet’s report makes Beijing’s diplomatic situation even more difficult, particularly in its relations with the West. However, the key question is how many non-aligned nations will join the West’s principled stance on this issue.
Despite China’s protestations of innocence and that the investigation was all a foreign plot – and indeed because of a refusal to own up to its terrible atrocities at home – the world must continue to exert incessant pressure on the heartless communist leadership in Beijing. (ANI)
