This came after the new coalition government, headed by Bennett and Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid (Future) party, was approved by the parliament, or Knesset…reports Asian Lite News
Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina (United Right) party, was sworn in as new Israeli prime minister on Sunday night, sending Benjamin Netanyahu to the opposition after a record 12-year rule.
This came after the new coalition government, headed by Bennett and Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid (Future) party, was approved by the parliament, or Knesset, in a vote of confidence, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the vote of confidence held in the parliament earlier, 60 lawmakers of the 120-member chamber voted in favour of the new government while 59 voted against it.
TV footages of the parliament session showed Bennett and Lapid taking their new seats at the coalition seats in the parliament, while Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, moved to the back seats of the opposition.
At the same time, the 27 new ministers of the new governing coalition were also sworn in.
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) June 13, 2021
Bennett and Lapid will rotate as the prime minister on a two-year base, with Bennett going first. Lapid will serve as Israel’s alternate prime minister and foreign minister.
Israel’s parliament on Sunday night also elected Mickey Levy, a lawmaker with Yesh Atid, as its new speaker.
The new coalition includes eight parties, including the Islamist Ra’am party, the first Arab faction to be included in a governing coalition in Israel.
Thousands of Israelis gathered on Rabin Square in central Tel Aviv on Sunday night to celebrate the end of Netanyahu’s rule.
The forming of the new coalition government has ended a political crisis in Israeli, that has seen four elections in two years.
Libyan President of the Presidency Council Mohamed Menfi met a senior Turkish delegation, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.(pic credit: https://twitter.com/MevlutCavusoglu)
The Turkish delegation stressed the continuation of cooperation in training security and police institutions…reports Asian Lite News
Mohamed Menfi, head of the Libyan Presidency Council, met a visiting Turkish delegation, which included Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and discussed security cooperation between the two countries.
The visit of the Turkish delegation, also including Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, follows a series of mutual previous ones between Libya and Turkey in 2021 that started with Menfi’s trip to Turkey in March, according to a statement issued by the Presidency Council on Saturday.
During the meeting, Menfi stressed the depth of the historical relations between the two countries and highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation and developing bilateral relations between the two countries, the statement said.
The Turkish delegation stressed the continuation of cooperation in training security and police institutions, de-mining, and combating illegal immigration and organised crime, it added.
The meeting also covered the upcoming Berlin conference on Libya, support of the political track, and uniting regional efforts for an international consensus that supports the stability, security and unity of the country.
The Turkish delegation also met Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Around the time when Pakistan and China were launching their ongoing diplomatic bromance in the 1960s, the juicy and pulpy fruit had sweetened bilateral ties, and impacted Chinese history in unexpected ways, reports Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha
Pakistan’s all weather friend China has refused to accept sweet and juicy mangoes sent by the Pakistani president Arif Alvi to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The stated reason�quarantine regulations prevent the gift from reaching the Chinese President.
The same fate befell the prized Chaunsa mangoes in the US, Canada, Nepal, Egypt, Sri Lanka and many other countries. The fear of Covid has forced the crestfallen mangoes to return to their home base in the Pakistani foreign office, reports Pakistani daily The News.
Quoting its sources, the daily said that the Pakistan Foreign Office had also listed the French president among the expected recipients of the gift. Paris has so far not responded to Pakistan’s outreach.
The Foreign Office is dispatching “Chaunsa” mangoes to the heads of more than 32 countries including Iran, Gulf countries, Turkey, United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Russia, on behalf of the president as part of, some would say, anachronistic “Mango diplomacy,” which may not be fashionable in the digital age.
It is not known whether mangoes have been sent to India or not. In 2014, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had sent a box of choicest Pakistani mangoes, to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Pakistani mangoes have a history in China. Around the time when the two countries were launching their ongoing diplomatic bromance in the 1960s, the juicy and pulpy fruit had sweetened bilateral ties, and impacted Chinese history in unexpected ways.
In August 1968, a crate of mangoes was gifted to Chairman Mao Zedong by Pakistani foreign minister, Mian Arshad Hussain, who was also high commissioner to India earlier, in Beijing.
The book “Mao’s Golden Mangoes and the Cultural Revolution” edited by historian and curator Alfreda Murck tells us what transpired next.
“The Pakistani mangoes, exotic and virtually unheard of in 1960s China, briefly played an important role in Cultural Revolution discourse, as the physical expression of Mao’s love and concern for his people at a time when the Mao cult was at its most frenzied,” the introduction of the book says.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan with Chinese Preisident Xi Jinping
“The mangoes were transported nationwide, despite their deterioration in the summer heat; they were replicated in wax and placed in glass vitrines for presentation and display; paintings and photographs of the fruit became objects of veneration; and they appeared as an auspicious motif on the ubiquitous Mao badges, on quilts, on household goods, and on floats at public ceremonies,” it added. The events related to the mangoes were later termed as the “mango fever” or the “cult of the mango.”
The frenzy over that first crate of Pakistani mangoes in China subsided just months later. But relations between the two countries left an enduring aftertaste.
Since then, mangoes became the “soft power” tool of choice in Pakistan.
In an interesting aside, mangoes have been used in diplomacy and intrigue, with an exchange of the fruit taking place regularly between the leaders of Pakistan and India as well as locally between political entities and diplomats posted in Pakistan. In the 1980s Pakistani leader Gen Zia-ul Haq had sent �Anwar Rataul’ mangoes to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 2001, the then Pakistani ruler General Pervez Musharraf had sent mangoes to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani before coming to India for the Agra Summit.
Pakistan, the world’s fifth largest producer of mangoes while India produces almost half of the world’s mangoes. In the world of diplomacy, the local varieties, such as Sindhri, Langda and Chaunsa and Anwar Rataul sit in the front row.
Few people know that like Langra and Chaunsa, Anwar Rataul, too, hails from India. It takes its name from the village of Ratol, two hours east of Delhi. But in this season Pakistan is only sending Chaunsa mangoes.
But there is also a dark side to mango diplomacy. In August 1988, the plane carrying Pakistan’s third military ruler, Gen Zia, crashed over Bahawalpur, killing him instantaneously. British-Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif in his book “A Case of Exploding Mangoes”, writes about the possible reasons for the death of General Zia in a plane crash in 1988.
According to UK’s The Times newspaper, investigators had found chemicals that are used to make small explosives on the mangoes which were stored on the plane. It was also reported that the mangoes were Anwar Rataul.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
The report also indicated a 37 per cent increase in the number of women casualties while a 23 percent spike in child casualties compared to last year….reports Asian Lite News
The continued brutal war, insurgency and extreme poverty in Afghanistan have forced countless number of children to resort to child labour and work on streets to earn livelihood for their families, instead of going to school.
Civilians including children are bearing the brunt of war in Afghanistan. A UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report released in April documented 1,783 civilian casualties (573 killed and 1,210 injured) in the first quarter of 2021 which indicates a 29 per cent increase against the same period of last year, reports Xinhua news agency.
The report also indicated a 37 per cent increase in the number of women casualties while a 23 percent spike in child casualties compared to last year.
Although there is no official statistics on the number of child labour, the number of vulnerable children in Afghanistan, according to local media reports, has increased from 3 million to 5 million.
Omar, 11, is one of the thousands of Afghan children who lost their parents in the endemic war and has been forced to work on Kabul streets to earn a livelihood for his five-member family.
Washing cars in Omid Sabz locality, Omar said the ongoing war has deprived him of going to school.
Afghanistan kids
“I am busy in car washing from dawn to dusk and roughly earn some 150 afghani ($1.9) daily to support my family,” he told Xinhua.
Another boy Abdul Azim, 13, who scavenges garbage buckets on the outskirts of Kabul city, told Xinhua that he was “the only bread earner of the family and have no choice but work and earn something”.
“On average I can earn around 180 afghani ($2.3) everyday and support my family.”
Ghulam Haider Jilani, the deputy for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said recently that the government would do its best to solve the problems of child labour in the country.
Jilani said the budget for children protection had increased from 20 million afghani last year to 52 million afghani this year.
Turkey was interested in taking control of Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport if NATO allies permit…reports Asian Lite News
Taliban on Friday opposed Turkey’s proposal to guard Kabul airport and said that Ankara must leave Afghanistan as per the 2020 deal.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson to the Taliban expressed his opposition to Turkey’s proposal to safeguard the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul after the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops’ withdrawal, reported The Khaama Press Agency.
Previously Turkey has said it will protect the Kabul airport with 500 soldiers if the NATO allies provide financial, logistical, and political supports to them.
Turkey was interested in taking control of Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport if NATO allies permit.
Khaama Press reported that Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said that Turkish forces have agreed to take the control of the Hamid Karzai International Airport if allies provide support.
“500 Turkish forces in Afghanistan will take the control and responsibility of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, if financial, logistic and political support is provided by the allies,” Akar said in a meeting with its NATO allies.
The US, other countries, and international agencies operating in Afghanistan are concerned about the safe evacuation of its personnel if the situation gets worse post-US withdrawal from Afghanistan, reported The Khaama Press Agency.
The US and NATO forces are scheduled to take out troops from Afghanistan before September 11, 2021, which is the 20th anniversary of the US towers attack by Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda.
Pentagon officials had earlier said that Pakistan had allowed the US military to use its airspace and given ground access so that it could support its presence in Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi refuted the claim and said that the country would not provide its military bases to the US for future counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan and also not allow drone attacks inside Pakistan.
Whereas, according to the New York Times, some American officials believe the negotiations have reached an impasse for now. The US intelligence agency CIA did use a base in Pakistan to launch drone strikes against militants but “was kicked out of the facility in 2011, when US relations with Pakistan unraveled,” the report said.
“Some American officials (told the newspaper) that negotiations with Pakistan had reached an impasse for now. Others have said the option remains on the table and a deal is possible,” the report explains.
According to NYT, William J. Burns, the CIA director, recently made an unannounced visit to Islamabad to meet the chief of the Pakistani military and the head of the directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence. US Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin also has had frequent calls with the Pakistani military chief about getting the country’s help for future US operations in Afghanistan. (ANI)
Confronting a major health crisis, Nepal has issued a worldwide appeal, including the United States and the United Kingdom — countries with whom India is in touch to define a global response to the ever-evolving pandemic, reports Rahul Kumar
Developed countries, in partnership with India, need to step up their game to support Nepal, which is staring at significant shortages of Covid-19 vaccines.
Having vaccinated a substantial number of their citizens, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have surplus stocks of jabs. In fact, the WHO has appealed to the developed countries, not to begin vaccinating children. Instead, these jabs can be sent to help developing countries, such as Nepal, to make up for their shortfall.
India’s massive and unexpected second wave of Covid-19 has upset previous plans. Countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal which were looking for Indian vaccines, are being forced to look elsewhere as the demand for jabs in India has exponentially surged. The Indian situation may ease only later this year. China, another vaccine maker is also finding it hard to step into the breach, because of its own prior commitments.
A health worker is seen at an isolation ward of a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal,
Confronting a major health crisis, Nepal has issued a worldwide appeal, including the United States and the United Kingdom — countries with whom India is in touch to define a global response to the ever-evolving pandemic.
An editorial in The Kathmandu Post titled, Help us, world, says that the daily infection rate remains around 7,300. With an increase in the number of cases, hospitals are flooded with patients leading to massive oxygen shortages. The editorial quoted the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, appealing to the international community to send vaccines to the country.
One of the biggest appeals has been made by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli through his opinion piece in the UK’s The Guardian newspaper.
Oli’s opinion piece published on May 10, says: “As I write this, my country is battling a new and brutal wave of the covid-19 pandemic. The rise in the number of infections poses a serious challenge to our brave doctors, nurses, other care providers, citizen volunteers and the entire health service system.
Nepal
… But due to the constraints of resources and infrastructure, the pandemic is turning out to be an overwhelming burden. I have, therefore, appealed to the international community to help us with vaccines, diagnostic tools, oxygen kits, critical care medicines and equipment, to support our efforts to save lives. Our urgent goal is to stop preventable deaths occurring”, says Oli in his opinion for the British newspaper.
Similar appeals have been made by a cross section of the Nepali community asking the world to help the country battle the surge in virus numbers.
Last week, people came together under the umbrella of Covid Alliance for Nepal and launched an online petition asking the US to provide vaccines after the US announced that it would release 60 million AstraZeneca doses globally. The petition is being led by resident Nepalis as well as Nepali citizens living in the US.
The alliance consists of ‘influential people’ – healthcare professionals in the US, journalists and activists. The Kathmandu Post quoted one of the activists, Sakar Pudasaini as saying: “The only effective solution is the vaccine. We cannot wait until the deaths are in thousands before we act.” Pudasaini added that people will have to act now so that the virus does not reach villages where little infrastructure exists.
The activists are optimistic that the US will provide the medical help that Nepal needs as it has considerable resources.
In one such massive appeal, 83 members of the Nepalese civil society have written to China asking for vaccines, oxygen supplies and other Covid-19 related supplies. Nepali newspaper The Annapurna Express said: “This is perhaps the first instance of the Nepali civil society making such an appeal with China, even as there have been many instances of similar appeals to various western countries.”
Analysts say that control over vaccine patents by Big Pharma companies is largely to blame for the huge vaccine shortages in the Global South, including Nepal. But the first breakthrough has been achieved after US President Joe Biden earlier this month endorsed a joint filing in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by India and South Africa to suspend Big Pharma patents. Once that is done, the flow of vaccines, which can be locally manufactured, can be untapped.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed lifting the patent protections of coronavirus vaccines with Biden, so that vaccine shortfalls triggered by the deadly second wave of Covid-19 could be bridged.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi also informed President Biden about India’s initiative at the WTO for a relaxation in the norms of the Agreement on TRIPS to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries,” said the statement released after the talks. The relaxation would grant governments quicker and more affordable access to the life-saving doses.
“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai said in a statement, endorsing India and South Africa’s stand to uncork vaccine flows. “The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines,” she observed.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
A vehicle moves through a flooded street following heavy rain on the outskirts of northwest Pakistan's Peshawar,
The district administration of all areas of the province was directed to stay alert for providing rescue and relief activities …reports Asian Lite News
Five people were killed and six others injured in separate rain and windstorm-triggered incidents in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said.
Eight houses also collapsed when heavy rains coupled with strong winds lashed the province, the PDMA said in a statement on Saturday.
The district administration of all areas of the province was directed to stay alert for providing rescue and relief activities if some weather-related emergency occurs in their districts, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.
Meanwhile, one of the main highways in a tourist attraction of Chitral district was blocked due to erosion of a river passing by it, and efforts to repair and find an alternate path for vehicles is underway, the PDMA said.
The injured people were shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast more rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the neighbouring Punjab province on Sunday, issuing a warning of urban flooding in low-lying areas.
The weather office also advised tourists intending to visit resorts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Punjab to check weather conditions before planning their trip. ALSO READ: Pakistan to grant Jadhav right of appeal
An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian protesters during clashes following a protest against the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, May 28, 2021. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua/IANS)
A civilian guard fired several bullets at the woman after she kept getting closer without heeding the guard’s warning calls on her to stop….reports Asian Lite News
A 28-year-old Palestinian woman was shot dead by an Israeli security guard at the Qalandiya checkpoint in the West Bank, the Israeli police said.
On Saturday, the woman, a resident of the Palestinian refugee camp Aqabat Jaber near the city of Jericho, approached the cars crossing at the checkpoint manned by Israeli border police and civilian security guards, and ran toward them holding a knife in her hand, Xinhua news agency quote the police as saying.
A civilian guard fired several bullets at the woman after she kept getting closer without heeding the guard’s warning calls on her to stop.
Medical staff who arrived later pronounced the woman’s death.
The Palestinian woman was reportedly associated with the Islamic Hamas movement and had been jailed in 2016-2018 for a stabbing attempt.
Earlier, the country had received seven million Covishield doses through a contract. Besides, India gave Bangladesh 3.3 million vaccines as a gift….reports Sumi Khan
Bangladesh has signed a pact with China to buy the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
The Health Minister said this during a programme at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases here.
He added: “The recent revelation of vaccine prices has created some issues. We have to maintain non-disclosure clauses strictly according to the deal.”
Earlier, the country had received seven million Covishield doses through a contract. Besides, India gave Bangladesh 3.3 million vaccines as a gift.
On May 27, the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase approved a proposal to buy 15 million doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, Lokman Hossain Mia, Secretary of the Health Service Division, said: “China is set to deliver 600,000 doses of the vaccine in a second consignment given to Bangladesh as a gift on Saturday.”
Maleque did not disclose the date of the deal, the price or quantity of doses.
During a briefing post meeting, a Cabinet Division official said the authorities would purchase the vaccine at $10 per dose.
The price disclosure created some confusion, as Beijing had said that Bangladesh would have to pay $15 per dose to buy the vaccine.
According to an Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) statement, two Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) aircraft left Bangladesh for China to bring back the doses on Friday night.
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Executive Director Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan said the two C-130J aircraft were set to return at around 5:30 pm on Saturday.
HSD Secretary Lokman said a new vaccine plan would be chalked out after the arrival of the second consignment from China.
The first gifted consignment of 500,000 vaccine doses were handed over on May 12.
Bangladesh started its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 7 by administering Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII).
On April 25, the government suspended administering the first doses with Covishield, as SII had been unable to provide the number of doses now, many people were waiting for second jabs after receiving their first.
The health authorities administered the Sinopharm vaccine to 500 medical college students on May 25. Besides, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) administered the Sinopharm vaccine to over 450 Chinese citizens.
The Swissinfo reported that Pakistani officials misused the legitimation card, a special card that diplomats give to their employees and that is issued by the Swiss mission. The officials forced them to agree to work more than 10 hours a week without any compensation
Pakistani embassy diplomats in Geneva have been accused of not paying six Filipino workers for more than 20 years, Swissinfo reported.
These workers accuse the Pakistani mission of violating an assurance. As per the deal, they are eligible to get a proper wage, accommodation and social security.
The Swissinfo reported that Pakistani officials misused the legitimation card, a special card that diplomats give to their employees and that is issued by the Swiss mission. The officials forced them to agree to work more than 10 hours a week without any compensation.
They had to work for other people also to make enough money to survive in a city like Geneva.
A formal complaint has been filed at the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office with the assistance from Inter-professional Trade Union.
“For decades, these domestic workers have been silenced by their fear of losing their residence status,” Mirella Falco, head of the SIT workers union, told Swissinfo. “If they are dismissed, they have two months to find another diplomatic employer. If not, they have no choice but to leave or go underground.”
Employees have petitioned Switzerland’s Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis through SIT. In their letter, they expressed their displeasure with the atrocities they had endured and requested the support from Switzerland.
The union is encouraging the government to take steps to put a halt to these abuses, including tightening the regulations governing working conditions and residence permits in the diplomatic community.
