Month: July 2024

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-Top News Politics USA

‘Trump Attack Marks Major Secret Service Failure’

The bullet hit the former President’s right ear and he dropped to the ground, Secret Service agents had thrown themselves on him to provide him extra cover…reports Asian Lite News

US Secret Service Director Kimberly A. Cheatle told lawmakers at a hearing that the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was the “most significant operational failure” for the agency in decades.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed,” Cheatle told members of the House committee Oversight and Accountability.

“As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” Cheatle conceded in response to a question from Congressman Ro Khanna whether the attempt on Trump’s life was the single biggest failure of the agency since the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan on March 20, 1981.

However, Cheatle declined to resign as the Secret Service Director.

“I will stay in the job and make the agency stronger. We must learn what happened, and I will move heaven and earth to ensure an incident like July 13th does not happen again,” she testified.

Lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic Party attacked the Director for her agency’s failure to prevent the assassination attempt in which a lone gunman shot at Trump during an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The bullet hit the former President’s right ear and he dropped to the ground, Secret Service agents had thrown themselves on him to provide him extra cover.

A Secret Service sniper killed the gunman, who was positioned on the roof of a nearby building.

Jame Comar, Chairman of the Committee, opened the hearing, calling for the Director to resign.

“The American people will make their own decisions based on her answers today,” James Comer said, speaking before an oversised photograph of Trump being whisked offstage after the shooting.

ALSO READ-Trump Mocks Biden’s Exit, Calls Him ‘Worst President’

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-Top News Politics USA

Kamala Harris Praises Biden’s Legacy in Public Debut

Harris recounted her own personal journey with President Biden, which started with her friendship with his late son Beau Biden. Harris got to know him as Attorneys General for California and Delaware, respectively…reports Yashwant Raj

US President Joe Biden’s legacy of achievements was “unmatched” in modern history, Vice-President Kamala Harris said Monday in her first public remarks after taking over the presidential ticket from him.

Harris addressed student athlete champions from American colleges on the South Lawns of the White House, standing in for Biden who is recovering from a Covid-19 infection at one of his homes in Delaware. It was from there that he announced on Sunday that he was ending his bid for re-election and endorsing Harris, who has since taken over the ticket and is moving swiftly to lock the nomination.

“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said, adding: “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office.”

Harris recounted her own personal journey with President Biden, which started with her friendship with his late son Beau Biden. Harris got to know him as Attorneys General for California and Delaware, respectively.

“Back then, Beau would often tell me stories about his dad. He would talk about the kind of father and the kind of man that Joe Biden is. The qualities that Bo revered in his father, at the same qualities that I have seen every day in our President, his honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart, and his deep love of our country. And I am a first-hand witness to that every day. Our President Joe Biden fights for the American people and we are deeply deeply grateful for his service to our nation,” she said.

Harris is running on the achievements of the three and half years of the Biden-Harris administration and although the President is out of the race, ousted by the party for his perceived inability to defeat his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, triggered by his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate late June, she has embraced the administration’s achievements. The Republicans will make sure they tie her up to its failures as they intend to.

ALSO READ-Kamala Harris for History

Categories
-Top News Bangladesh World News

UN Chief Concerned Over Bangladesh Using UN Vehicles in Riots

Bangladesh, with 5,859 troops in UN peacekeeping operations, has access to UN-marked vehicles and equipment intended for use in countries where its personnel are deployed on UN missions…reports Arul Louis

United Nations, July 23 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed “serious concern” over reports that authorities had deployed vehicles with UN markings during the Bangladesh riots, his Spokesperson said.

UN staff there had “seen disturbing reports of UN-marked vehicles that may have been used during the developments we’ve seen in Bangladesh over the last few days,” Guterres’s Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday.

UN troops and police-contributing countries should use the UN insignia on equipment “only when they are performing mandated tasks as part of a UN peacekeeping or UN political mission,” he added.

“Our serious concern in this regard has been conveyed to the relevant authorities in Bangladesh by our colleagues,” he said.

Bangladesh with 5,859 troops on UN peacekeeping operations has access to vehicles and equipment with UN markings meant for use in other countries where its personnel are deployed on the world organisation’s missions.

Bangladesh is the third-largest contributor of personnel to current UN peacekeeping operations.

Dujarric said that Guterres is “deeply concerned” about the reports that more than 100 people have been killed in the violence in Bangladesh and over 1,000 injured.

He said that the Secretary-General has seen the reports about the Supreme Court ruling in Bangladesh scaling back the job quotas and the students’ groups’ decision to suspend their agitation for 48 hours.

“He very much hopes that both these decisions will help create a conducive environment for dialogue. He urges all sides to avoid violence and negotiate in good faith,” Dujarric added.

Student groups were protesting the 30 per cent government job reservations for the family members of the Bangladesh freedom fighters who fought against Pakistani troops and their supporters who carried out the genocide.

Three million Bangladeshis were killed during the 1971 War of Independence, according to Bangladesh authorities.

The Supreme Court on Sunday ordered the reservation for freedom fighters’ relatives cut to five per cent.

Asked about reports of Bangladeshi protesters in the United Arab Emirates receiving long prison sentences, Dujarric said, “We’ve seen the disturbing reports of very harsh sentences being meted out.”

“As we do everywhere else, we feel that it is very important for people to have the right to express themselves freely and peacefully without fear of arrest or worse,” he added.

The Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi sentenced three Bangladeshi protesters to life terms, one to an 11-year sentence and 53 to a 10-year jail term, according to reports.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)

ALSO READ: UN Chief Calls for reform of int’l financial system

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Africa News EU News

South Africa Seeks Trade Opportunities at BRICS Summit

India at the BRICS summit-Exercise of Strategic Autonomy in difficult circumstances.(photo:IN)

He added that the BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting will be preceded by a roundtable discussion under the theme “The Place of BRICS in the New Architecture of the International Economic System”…reports Asian Lite News

South Africa will attend the 14th BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting later this week in Moscow, Russia, to seek trade and investment opportunities, a government official said.

“South Africa will continue to identify opportunities for cooperation with BRICS partners, both bilaterally and through the BRICS platform, that would present opportunities for the continent to transition away from its historic role as a commodity exporter toward higher productivity value addition,” said Zuko Godlimpi, South African deputy minister of trade, industry and competition, before departing for the meeting, on Monday.

He added that the BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting will be preceded by a roundtable discussion under the theme “The Place of BRICS in the New Architecture of the International Economic System” as reported by Xinhua news agency.

The meeting will allow South Africa to build mutually beneficial trade and investment relations that promote value-added trade and economic transformation, said Goldimpi, noting that his country wants to facilitate foreign direct investment into the productive sectors with BRICS partners and coordinate positions on global governance.

The BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

In January, the bloc expanded its membership to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Ethiopia.

ALSO READ-Om Birla calls for UNSC, WTO reforms at BRICS forum

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Moscow Awaits Specifics on Zelensky’s Peace Talks Plan

Spokesman said that Washington would likely keep supporting Ukraine, and the financial burden increasingly be placed on its “European subordinates”…reports Asian Lite News

Moscow will wait for concrete actions, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, while commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal of possible talks with Russia.

Russian representatives should be present at a second peace conference on Ukraine, which is scheduled to be held in November, said Zelensky on Monday.

“What exactly is behind these words? What specific plans are we discussing? What actions are being proposed in this regard?” Peskov asked, noting that it was too early to judge and necessary to wait for specific actions, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Spokesman said that Washington would likely keep supporting Ukraine, and the financial burden increasingly be placed on its “European subordinates”.

Western aid to Kiev would “not contribute to the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, but on the contrary, will prolong it,” said Peskov, adding that it would not affect the outcome of Russia’s special military operation in any way.

ALSO READ-US missiles in Germany signal Cold War, Kremlin says

Categories
-Top News Business India News

BUDGET 2024: Nirmala Breaks Morarji’s Record

Nirmala Sitharaman will now also hold the record for the maximum consecutive budget presentations, reports Asian Lite News

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to make history by presenting her seventh consecutive Budget on Tuesday, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Morarji Desai.

Sitharaman, who holds the record for the longest budget speech delivered on February 1, 2020, which lasted two hours and 40 minutes before being cut short, will now also hold the record for the maximum consecutive budget presentations.

Desai presented six budgets during his tenure as Finance Minister from 1959 to 1963 and from 1967 to 1969.

Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai still holds the overall record for presenting the most number of budget speeches, with ten in total. He served as Finance Minister under former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

The Union Budget 2024 aims to lay a roadmap for Viksit Bharat by 2047. Following the budget presentation, Sitharaman will address a press conference alongside Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan, other Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance, and Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran.

The Union Budget is expected to focus on several key areas, including greater allocations for rural economy, taxation reforms, infrastructure development, local manufacturing, job and skill creation, and increased production-linked incentive (PLI) allocation to labour-intensive sectors.

Changes in the income tax structure to benefit taxpayers and measures to improve the ease of doing business are also anticipated to be major highlights.

Categories
-Top News Economy World News

UN Chief Calls for reform of int’l financial system

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for reforming the international financial system, describing it as “outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair…reports Asian Lite News

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for reform of the international financial system which he described as “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair”.

In a video message to the first meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which started in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, Guterres said the upcoming conference provides a unique opportunity to tackle financing challenges “head-on” as reported by Xinhua news agency.

The conference, scheduled to take place in Spain from June 30 to July 3, 2025, “opens the door for world leaders to adopt ambitious reforms to deliver affordable long-term financing at scale, and deliver the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Stimulus,” said the UN Chief.

“It presents a unique opportunity to reform an international financial system that is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair — from the tax and debt architecture to the system of public development banks, to trade and investment rules, to the financial safety net and global governance,” he added.

Since world leaders met in Addis Ababa nine years ago and agreed on a transformative agenda committing public and private actors to align investment and policies with sustainable development, progress has been made, but many commitments remain unfulfilled, Guterres said.

The world is facing “seismic shocks” that make financing challenges harder to solve, and geopolitical divisions that undermine collective action, he stressed.

“Faced with sky-high debt burdens and costs of capital, developing countries have limited prospects of financing the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“I count on all of you to move forward with a determination to rescue the 2030 Agenda. And together, we can deliver not only a financial system, but a world, that is more just, equitable and sustainable,” Guterres concluded.

ALSO READ: Another Hindu Temple Vandalised in Canada

Categories
-Top News Canada India News

Another Hindu Temple Vandalised in Canada

The vandalised temple wall reads: “PM Modi MP Arya Hindu Terrorists are Anti-Canada….reports Asian Lite News

Canadian Member of Parliament Chandra Arya took to X to express his concern over BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir that was defaced.

He wrote: “During the last few years, Hindu temples in Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia and other places in Canada are being vandalised with hateful graffiti.”

Drawing attention to the extremist elements instigating such incidents, the Liberal MP, known for his advocacy on multicultural issues, highlighted that “Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice last year publicly called for Hindus to go back to India. Khalistan supporters publicly celebrated in Brampton and Vancouver the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, brandishing images of deadly weapons.”

“As I have always been saying, Khalistani extremists seem to get away with ease with their public rhetoric of hate and violence,” he asserted, adding: “Again, let me put on record. Hindu-Canadians are legitimately concerned.”

With a picture of the defaced temple wall, he concluded his post by urging: “Like a broken record, I again call on Canadian law enforcement agencies to take this issue seriously before these rhetorics get translated into physical action against Hindu-Canadians.”

The vandalised temple wall reads: “PM Modi MP Arya Hindu Terrorists are Anti-Canada.”

Last year in November, Canada-India Foundation, an advocacy body, had asked politicians in the country to break their silence and rein in radicals before it got too late. However, Canadian politicians and media ignored the threat.

In response to the situation, they had expressed in an open letter: “We are even more disappointed that our political leaders have maintained a total silence on this grave issue. This selective approach to dealing with terrorism and threats will not make this world a safe place.”

In recent times, vandalised Hindu temples include Ram Mandir in Mississauga, Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Toronto, Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey.

These attacks are viewed as attacks on the freedom of religion and are perceived as a dangerous trend. The advocacy body also highlighted that the extremists have started to even target ordinary Hindus, telling them to leave Canada.

ALSO READ: Canada, after US and EU, mulls tariffs on Chinese-made EVs

Categories
Asia News PAKISTAN Politics

Clash of hybrids leaves Pakistan in tatters

The PMLN government’s decision to ban Pakistan’s most popular party and charge PTI leaders with sedition has sparked fears of a political clash and potential martial law. Amid economic crisis and security challenges, Pakistan risks severe instability and unrest, writes Dr Sakariya Kareem

The decision of the PMLN government led by Shehbaz Sharif to ban the most popular political party in Pakistan and initiate sedition proceedings against PTI leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former President Arif Alvi has put the country on a disastrous path to a clash between two hybrid political dispensations.

The Pakistan Army, the creator of both hybrid formations, will likely be caught between the two stools, putting the army chief, General Asim Munir, on a more difficult wicket.

General Asim Munir with Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

The army had created the hybrid regime led by Imran Khan during General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure. When Bajwa fell out with Khan, the artificial edifice collapsed, ironically propelling the former cricket star as a popular political leader among the disgruntled masses, mostly young voters. The country’s fortunes, however, plummeted. When the army got a new chief Asim Munir, there was a deep divide in the military leadership and Munir had several bones to pick with Imran Khan. Munir was keen on punishing Khan and propping up a new hybrid regime with Shehbaz Sharif as the Prime Minister.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa

The move is now unravelling with Imran Khan gaining popular support as the Shehbaz Sharif government, doing the bidding of General Asim Munir, is mounting uncalled-for persecution of the former Prime Minister. The recent Supreme Court ruling in favour of Khan’s party, PTI, has further rattled the army-backed government. The apex court had given PTI the due share of reserved seats in the National Assembly besides recognising it as a parliamentary party. The PTI thus has emerged as the single largest party in the Lower House, reducing the Shehbaz Sharif government’s two-thirds majority in both the Houses. The court’s decision indirectly indicts the government’s desperate efforts to suppress the PTI and its leader. A lower court had earlier given a clean chit to Imran Khan and his wife in the marriage case, undermining the deep state’s concerted attempts to dismember Khan’s party and career.

The move to ban PTI has the nod of PMLN supremo, Nawaz Sharif. This shows a political leader who was once labelled the `Lion of Punjab` has turned into a `jackal` hemmed in by the Generals who do not trust him a bit. If the government goes ahead with this suicidal mission, it will signal the end of PMLN and deepen the divide among the senior and middle-rung leadership of the army. The army is already cut by divisions over PTI and Imran Khan.

Former PM Imran Khan shaked hands with then Lt. Gen. Munir

Many commentators suspect that the move was a strategic ploy to pave the way for martial law. The Generals were uncertain about Shehbaz Sharif’s ability to stabilize the country amidst its severe turmoil. If the situation deteriorates further, Pakistan could face a disaster akin to the 1971 crisis when the country split into two. Alongside political instability, Pakistan is experiencing one of its worst economic crises, leading to widespread poverty and unrest. Security challenges are intensifying across the east, centre, and west, presenting formidable difficulties that won’t be easily resolved. Banning the PTI and imprisoning Imran Khan for an extended period could provoke public unrest, which the Generals might struggle to contain. In this power struggle between hybrid regimes, both the country and the military risk losing whatever remaining prestige and stability they have.

Categories
-Top News Asia News Politics

3rd Day of Turbat Protest: Baloch Demands Safe Return

On July 21, Families of forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals launched a hunger strike unto death in the Turbat district of Pakistan’s Balochistan…reports Asian Lite News

As the five missing Baloch people’s families continued their protest for the third day, activist Mahrang Baloch demanded the safe return of the missing people.

In a statement, she said the Baloch people are protesting because the Counter Terrorist Department abducts people.

In a post on X, Mahrang said, “Why do Baloch march? Because every day, security forces break into Baloch homes, beat and abduct innocent people. Families of five missing persons continue their sit-in on Day 3, blocking the CPEC road, at Greshag demanding the safe return of their loved ones enforcedly disappeared by CTD.”

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee in a post on X shared a video appeal by Saira Baloch the sister of one of the abducted persons.

“Saira Baloch, a sister protesting for his enforcedly disappeared brothers on roads for the last six years; urging the Baloch Raj to join the Baloch Raji Muchi at Gwadar. She is an example of suffering from the collective punishment that the families of disappeared persons go through. With unity and resistance, we can end this cycle of enforced disappearances and collective punishment of our mothers and sisters, and secure a prosperous future for our generations. ” the post said.

On July 21, Families of forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals launched a hunger strike unto death in the Turbat district of Pakistan’s Balochistan, expressing deep dissatisfaction with the Pakistani government’s handling of the issue. The protest, now in its seventh day, aims to highlight the plight of family members of those who were abducted and demand their safe return.

According to a statement from the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a Baloch rights organisation, “The sit-in camp by victim families of the disappeared people has completed seven days.

“On July 18, they announced a hunger strike. These families, from various areas of the Kech district, have been protesting in front of the DC office in Turbat. On July 19, they began their hunger strike,” the BYC said.

The BYC has also called for a national gathering in Gwadar on July 28 to protest the forced disappearance of people. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Internet suspended in Balochistan during Muharram