Central News Hub

Month: January 2024

  • Star-Studded Line-up for KLF 2024

    Star-Studded Line-up for KLF 2024

    The list also includes Kailash Sathyarthi (Nobel Peace Laureate), Charu Nivedita (author), T.M. Krishna (vocalist, activist, and author), Suraj Yengde (columnist and author), and K.K. Shailaja (Kerala MLA)…reports Asian Lite News

    The Kerala Literature Festival (KLF 2024) has announced its line-up of speakers for the seventh edition scheduled to be held from January 11 to 14, 2024, on the beaches of Kozhikode. Notable attendees include Raghuram Rajan (economist), William Dalrymple (historian), Palanivel Thiagarajan (Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Information Technology), T. H. Vinayakram (Indian percussionist), Resul Pookutty (film sound designer and Academy Award winner), Gurcharan Das (author), Devika Rege (Novelist), Saras Manickam (Malaysian author), Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan (author and translator), Mani Shankar Aiyar (politician), Barkha Dutt (journalist), Prakash Raj (actor and politician), Kanan Gill (stand-up comedian and actor), Bachi Karkaria (journalist and columnist), Preeti Shenoy (author and Blogger), Mugdha Sinha (Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Culture), Prahlad Kakkar (advertisement professional), Durjoy Datta (novelist and screenwriter), Shashi Tharoor (politician), Anita Nair (author), Abraham Verghese (American physician and author), and Francesc Miralles (author), among others.

    The list also includes Kailash Sathyarthi (Nobel Peace Laureate), Charu Nivedita (author), T.M. Krishna (vocalist, activist, and author), Suraj Yengde (columnist and author), and K.K. Shailaja (Kerala MLA). Turkey will be celebrating its 100 years of the republic at KLF 2024 and will be represented through music, dance, food, and various art forms. The UK, Wales, Japan, USA, Malaysia, Spain, and France will be the other participating countries. The festival will feature 400+ global speakers.

    KLF will also witness the performance of Sufi dancers from Konya, the home of Rumi.

    ALSO READ- A Fall Feast of Literature

     

  • UN warns against increasing famine risk in Gaza

    UN warns against increasing famine risk in Gaza

    OCHA also said that the spread of diseases in Gaza has reportedly intensified, particularly due to the recent mass displacements across the southern part of the war-torn enclave…reports Asian Lite News

    The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned against an increasing risk of famine in the Gaza Strip “amid intense conflict and restricted access”.

    In its latest situation update, the UN agency said that the Famine Review Committee (FRC) was activated due to evidence surpassing the acute food insecurity Phase 5 (Catastrophic threshold)” in the Hamas-controlled enclave.

    “The committee added that, to eliminate the famine risk, it is imperative to halt the deterioration of health, nutrition, food security, and mortality situation through the restoration of health, water, sanitation, and hygiene services,” the OCHA said in its update.

    It further said that the FRC “has called for the cessation of hostilities and the restoration of humanitarian space for delivering multisectoral assistance, noting these were vital first steps to eliminate any risk of famine”.

    In its update, the OCHA also said that the spread of diseases in Gaza has reportedly intensified, particularly due to the recent mass displacements across the southern part of the war-torn enclave.

    Close to 180,000 people are suffering from upper respiratory infections; there are 136,400 cases of diarrhoea (half of these among children under the age of five); 55,400 cases of lice and scabies; 5,330 cases of chickenpox; 42,700 cases of skin rash (including 4,722 cases of impetigo); 4,683 cases of Acute Jaundice Syndrome; and 126 cases of meningitis.

    Since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7, 2023, at least 22,185 Palestinians have been killed, with 57,035 injured persons and up to 7,000 others reportedly missing.

    The Ministry of Health in Gaza estimates that about 70 per cent of the total fatalities are women and children.

    By the end of 2023, 1.9 million people, or nearly 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza, were estimated to be internally displaced, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

    ALSO READ-2024 SPECIAL: Unrest in Gilgit-Baltistan

  • Turkey detains 33 people suspected of spying for Mossad

    Turkey detains 33 people suspected of spying for Mossad

    Simultaneous raids across 57 addresses in eight provinces resulted in the capture of the suspects, while search operations for the remaining 13 suspects are underway…reports Asian Lite News

    Turkish authorities have detained 33 people on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities on behalf of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad, Anadolu Agency reported citing security sources on Tuesday.

    It reported that the arrests led to an investigation by the Istanbul prosecutor’s office’s Terrorism and Organised Crimes Investigation Bureau, focusing on espionage.

    The suspects are alleged to have been involved in activities such as reconnaissance, surveillance, assault, and abduction on behalf of Mossad, Anadolu Agency reported.

    Simultaneous raids across 57 addresses in eight provinces resulted in the capture of the suspects, while search operations for the remaining 13 suspects are underway.

    It did not provide information on the suspects or the foreigners who were allegedly targeted. The report came weeks after the head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said in an audio recording that his organisation is prepared to destroy Hamas “in every place,” including in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar, Al Jazeera reported.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel of “serious consequences” if it pressed ahead with its threat to attack Hamas officials on Turkish soil.

    As per an Al Jazeera report, following years of tension, Turkey and Israel moved towards normalising ties in 2022 as they resumed diplomatic ties. But that detente quickly deteriorated during the Israel-Hamas war, with Ankara becoming one of the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

    Israel initially withdrew its diplomats from Turkey over security concerns and later announced it was recalling its diplomats for political reasons, citing “increasingly harsh statements” from Turkish officials. Turkey also pulled its ambassador from Israel.

    Earlier last month, hitting out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his “Hitler” remarks against him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Erdogan is the “last person” to preach morality to Israel.

    He also accused Erdogan of “committing genocide” against Kurds and imprisoning journalists opposing his regime.

    Netanyahu further said that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is the “most moral army” in the world and is fighting to eliminate “Hamas-ISIS” whose ‘crimes against humanity’ were “praised” by Erdogan. (ANI)

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  • UK factory revival prospects suffer setback in Dec

    UK factory revival prospects suffer setback in Dec

    The reading was also down slightly from a preliminary December estimate of 46.4 and was below the 50.0 growth threshold for a 17th month in a row…reports Asian Lite News

    Britain’s manufacturing sector suffered a setback in its attempts to return to growth as output and employment fell more sharply in December than the previous month, according to a survey published on Tuesday.

    The final reading of the S&P Global/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) weakened to 46.2 in December, ending a run of three months of improvement and down from a seven-month high of 47.2 in November.

    The reading was also down slightly from a preliminary December estimate of 46.4 and was below the 50.0 growth threshold for a 17th month in a row.

    Britain’s manufacturing sector has borne the brunt of the climb in borrowing costs. By contrast, preliminary PMIs for December showed the country’s much bigger services sector saw the strongest growth in six months.

    Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the fall in new orders for manufacturers was seen in the domestic and export markets, particularly in the European Union, and confidence in the sector was at its lowest in a year.

    Cutbacks to stock levels, purchasing and employment reflected a cautious approach to costs, he said.

    “With concerns about high interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis hurting demand, the outlook for manufacturers in the months ahead remains decidedly gloomy,” Dobson said.

    “The downturn in demand is having some positive effects on supply chains, however, with suppliers reducing their prices for raw materials and vendor lead times showing a further improvement.”

    Manufacturers increased their prices marginally for a second month in a row, driven by the investment goods sector. The fall in input costs was the smallest since May.

    ALSO READ-Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed Channel to UK in 2023

  • Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed Channel to UK in 2023

    Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed Channel to UK in 2023

    Sunak said last month that there was no “firm date” for meeting his pledge…reports Asian Lite News

    Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the Channel from mainland Europe to Britain in small boats in 2023, an annual drop of more than a third, according to government figures released Monday.

    The last arrival of the year was on Dec. 16, when 55 people were detected in one boat, according to the figures from the Home Office, the interior ministry.

    But the unauthorized arrival of 29,437 people on the southeast English coast is still the second-largest yearly tally since officials began publishing the numbers in 2018.

    The perilous journeys across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes have become a huge political problem for Britain’s Conservative government, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledging last year to “stop the boats” and is seeking to revive a plan to send those who arrive illegally in Britain to Rwanda after it was blocked by the courts.

    One of five key promises he made for 2023, the promise of reducing persistently high numbers of migrant arrivals could haunt the Tory leader as he attempts to win a general election due this year.

    Sunak said last month that there was no “firm date” for meeting his pledge.

    The beleaguered leader will likely point to the 36 percent reduction in small-boat arrivals last year, after a record 45,775 migrants made the dangerous journey across the Channel in 2022.

    His government claims that a £480 million ($610 million) agreement with France to increase efforts to stop the migrants is starting to pay off, alongside fast-track return deals struck with countries such as Albania.

    But Labour, the main opposition party — which has enjoyed double-digit poll leads for the duration of Sunak’s nearly 15 months in power — says Sunak has failed to keep his promise and his immigration policy is in chaos.

    The Conservatives had hoped to deter the crossings by preventing all migrants arriving without prior authorization from applying for asylum and sending some to Rwanda.

    But the policy remains stalled after the UK Supreme Court ruled that deporting them to the east African country was illegal under international law.

    The cross-Channel journeys on small inflatable vessels, which are often overloaded and unseaworthy, have repeatedly proved deadly.

    In November 2021, at least 27 people drowned when their dinghy capsized.

    The UK government is also under pressure to reduce record numbers of immigration via pre-authorized arrivals, with the number in the year to June 2023 estimated to be 672,000 more than the number who left.

    The figures contradict pledges by the Tories — in power since 2010 — to reduce overall migration to Britain after Brexit.

    Ministers have in the last year announced various measures aimed at lowering that annual tally by 300,000, including by preventing almost all international students from bringing family members with them.

    That change came into force on Monday, with Interior Minister James Cleverly calling the previous practice of permitting dependents to come with foreign students “unreasonable.”

    He added that the new rules “will see migration falling rapidly by the tens of thousands and contribute to our overall strategy to prevent 300,000 people from coming to the UK.”

    ALSO READ-Pakistan Repatriates Over 500,000 Afghan Immigrants

  • Jaishankar Set for Diplomatic Overdrive in Nepal

    Jaishankar Set for Diplomatic Overdrive in Nepal

    Jaishankar, who will be on a day-long visit, will co-chair the meeting with his Nepalese counterpart N.P. Saud, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu….reports Asian Lite News

     A jam packed agenda awaits External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Kathmandu as he is scheduled to arrive in the Himalayan nation on Thursday for the seventh meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission.

    Jaishankar, who will be on a day-long visit, will co-chair the meeting with his Nepalese counterpart N.P. Saud, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu.

    The meeting will review the overall state of bilateral relations and various areas of mutual cooperation, it said.

    Over three dozens agendas spanning from border to boundary, trade, commerce, economic cooperation, energy, connectivity, India funded projects in Nepal to the agreements signed during the 2023 visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to India will also be discussed by the two sides, the Ministry said.

    According to officials, at least two agreements related to long-term energy cooperation and India’s proposal to increase funds for small development projects under the High-impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), will be signed.

    During Dahal’s visit to India last summer, the two countries had agreed to sign a long-term agreement on energy, whereby New Delhi would import 10,000 megawatts from Kathmandu in 10 years.

    At an event on December 22, 2023, Prime Minister Dahal had said: “We are going to sign a long-term energy deal with India soon. A mid-term and a long-term energy trading deal will be signed in Kathmandu.”

    Also during Jaishankar’s visit, three transmission lines of 132 KVA will be jointly inaugurated on Thursday.

    They are the Raxaul-Parwanipur transmission line connecting with Bihar state of India, Kushaha-Kataiya transmission line and Nautanwa-Mainahia transmission line connecting with Uttar Pradesh.

    A team from India’s Ministry of Energy has arrived in Kathmandu to negotiate a medium-term and long-term energy agreement between the two nations.

    The 10,000 megawatt power trade agreement is scheduled to be signed by Pankaj Agarwal, secretary of the Ministry of Energy of India, and Gopal Sigdel, secretary of the Ministry of Energy of Nepal, at the presence of the foreign ministers of both countries.

    During Jaishankar’s visit, Nepal will also give its nod to the Indian offer to increase the budget for small projects to be implemented by local units.

    The budget is being increased from the existing Rs 50 million per project to Rs 200 million per project

    Jaishankar will conclude his trip by paying courtesy calls on President Ramchandra Paudel, Prime Minister Dahal, among other top leaders.

    Saud will also host a dinner in honour of visiting dignitary and members of his delegation.

    ALSO READ: Tankers Divert as US Claims Iran’s Role in Houthi Ops

  • Iranian Opposition Leader Attends Israeli Parliament

    Iranian Opposition Leader Attends Israeli Parliament

    Beheshti became the first ever Iranian opposition leader to address Parliament as Ministers, Members of Knesset…reports Asian Lite News

     Iranian opposition member Vahid Beheshti has created history by becoming the first leader from the Islamic Republic to address a meeting of the Israeli Knesset, or Parliament.

    In the historic meeting of the Knesset Israel Victory Caucus (KIVC) on Tuesday, Beheshti became the first ever Iranian opposition leader to address Parliament as Ministers, Members of Knesset, security, diplomatic and political leaders presented “day after” plans and spoke about how to turn a victory on the battlefield into something more permanent.

    In his address, Beheshti said: “Soon you will have to deal with the elephant in the room, which is the Iranian government, and you should not be afraid of attacking Iranian bases in Iran. This is the only language they understand.”

    The Iranian opposition figure who is based in London rose to prominence after completing a 72-day hunger strike followed by a sit-in last month, calling on the British government to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terror organization.

    “The good news is that you have an army of 80 million Iranians who are thirsty for freedom and democracy, who since 2009 have been trying to overthrow the government but have not yet succeeded, because of the barbaric violence of the Iranian regime,” Beheshti said.

    He said that if Israel support the Iranian people, the regime will lower the head of the octopus and everyone will experience peace.

    “The Iranian government is at its greatest weakness in 44 years. They were aware of the attack on the 7th of October in advance, they thought that after the terrible attack they would achieve a total ceasefire within two months, but it did not happen.

    “Help us overthrow the government, try to imagine what the Middle East would look like without the Iranian government, just imagine,” he added.

    ALSO READ: Tankers Divert as US Claims Iran’s Role in Houthi Ops

  • US Calls On Nicaragua To Release Bishop Rolando Alvarez

    US Calls On Nicaragua To Release Bishop Rolando Alvarez

    The US State Department also acknowledged arrest of other religious leaders, who are languishing in jails….reports Asian Lite News

    The United States (US) has called on the Nicaraguan government to release Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who has been “unjustly incarcerated,” immediately and without conditions.

    A statement from the US State Department said that Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo “have unjustly incarcerated Bishop Rolando Alvarez for 500 days”.

    “During that time, Nicaraguan authorities have kept Bishop Alvarez in isolation, blocked independent evaluation of the conditions of his imprisonment, and released staged videos and photographs that only increase concerns about his well-being,” the statement adds.

    The US State Department also acknowledged arrest of other religious leaders, who are languishing in jails.

    “In addition to Bishop Alvarez, many religious leaders remain unjustly detained in Nicaragua, including fellow Bishop Isidoro Mora and several priests. The Ortega-Murillo regime continues to impose severe restrictions on religious communities and deny Nicaraguan citizens the ability to freely practice their religions and express their beliefs,” the statement also said.

    “We once again call on the Nicaraguan government to release Bishop Rolando Alvarez immediately and without conditions,” it added.

    In its extensive crackdown on opposition figures and Catholic Church, led by President Ortega, the Nicaraguan authorities arrested a second bishop on December 24, as reported by CNN. Bishop Isidoro Mora, from the Siuna church on the Caribbean coast, was arrested after participating in a mass commemorating the anniversary of the Matagalpa church, the sources added.

    Notably, Alvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa, is serving a 26-year prison sentence for charges including conspiracy and treason. He refused to leave the country with 200 others opposing the government.

    The condition of Mora since the arrest remains unknown, as per one source.

    A source told CNN the “persecution against the church in Nicaragua is very strong. We shut up because if we say something we face threats. We know the world knows, but we suffer the pain.”

    Since 2018, tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled the country to escape persecution when Ortega’s government suppressed widespread anti-regime protests, resulting in numerous deaths, injuries, and arbitrary detentions, according to Human Rights Watch.

    President Ortega and Vice President Murillo view the Catholic Church as opposition forces, labelling the protests as an “attempted coup.”

    Mora’s arrest follows the expulsion of two Costa Rican nuns from Nicaragua in April after praying for Alvarez.

    Yader Morazan, an expert in Nicaragua’s judiciary system, highlighted a “repressive pattern” against the Catholic Church, with dozens of priests and laymen jailed, and over 200 people, including priests and nuns, expelled or blocked from returning.

    Ortega secured a fifth term as president in 2021. His government, citing a vague national security law, began detaining opposition figures, journalists, and activists ahead of the elections in June of that year, CNN reported. (ANI)

    ALSO READ: Attacks on US Bases Claimed by Shia Militia

  • Appeals court Rules Texas Can Ban Emergency Abortions

    Appeals court Rules Texas Can Ban Emergency Abortions

    Texas had sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its guidance on the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act…reports Asian Lite News

    The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Texas can ban emergency abortions, despite President Joe Biden’s administration arguing that federal guidance should take priority over state laws banning the procedure.

    “The Texas plaintiffs’ argument that medical treatment is historically subject to police power of the states, not to be superseded unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress, is convincing,” Judge Kurt Engelhardt, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, wrote in his opinion.

    Texas had sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its guidance on the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which says health providers who perform abortions in emergencies are protected under federal law.

    A federal judge in Texas blocked the federal agency from enforcing the guidance in Texas in 2022, and the HHS appealed the decision afterward.

    Last month, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a pregnant woman, Kate Cox, who was suing the state over its abortion ban, was not permitted to undergo an emergency procedure in the state.

    Cox, who learned that her fetus had a fatal diagnosis, ultimately left the state to obtain the necessary procedure.

    Texas has one of the strictest abortion bans in the US.

    Abortions in the state are prohibited from the point of conception, except in rare cases where the life of the expectant mother is under threat.

    There is no state-wide law prohibiting travel outside of the state for an abortion, but some counties have passed such restrictions in recent months.

    In October 2023, Lubbock County became the largest county to enact such a measure, making it illegal for anyone to transport a pregnant woman through the county, or pay for her travel, for the purposes of obtaining an abortion.

    Nearly 1 in 5 people who had an abortion in the US in the first half of 2023 – more than 92,000 people – traveled across state lines for their care, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organisation focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports abortion rights.

    ALSO READ: Attacks on US Bases Claimed by Shia Militia

  • Attacks on US Bases Claimed by Shia Militia

    Attacks on US Bases Claimed by Shia Militia

    The armed group claimed responsibility for launching drone and rocket attacks on four US military bases in neighbouring Syria during the day….reports Asian Lite News

    An Iraqi Shia militia has claimed responsibility for launching attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria.

    The militia, named Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed in an online statement that its fighters launched a bomb-laden drone on Tuesday on a base housing .S-led coalition forces near the Erbil Airport in the northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, reports Xinhua news agency.

    A statement by the regional Counter-Terrorism Service confirmed the attack and said that a booby-trapped drone was shot down in the morning while trying to attack a base near the Erbil Airport.

    Also on Tuesday, the armed group claimed responsibility for launching drone and rocket attacks on four US military bases in neighbouring Syria during the day.

    In separate statements, the group said that its fighters carried out three drone attacks on the American bases in al-Malikiyah and Rumailan in the al-Hasakah province, as well as the US Green Village military base at the al-Omar oilfield in Deir al-Zour province, while the fourth attack was a rocket barrage on the al-Shaddadi US base in the al-Hasakah province.

    The attacks by the Iraqi armed group are part of a series of retaliatory measures against the US forces amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, according to the statements.

    The recent attacks brought the number of recorded attacks on US bases in Syria to 71 since October 19, 2023, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier said that Washington will not hesitate to attack Iran-backed facilities in Iraq if it becomes “necessary” to protect the security of America.

    The US military forces conducted “necessary and proportionate strikes” on three locations in Iraq in response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by “Iranian-sponsored militias,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

    Austin further said that there is no ‘higher priority’ than US’ security and it “won’t hesitate” in taking necessary action to defend the country, its troops and interests.

    “Today, at President Biden’s direction, US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq,” Lloyd Austin said.

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