Category: Asia News

“I am concerned that sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act may exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria, especially in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Douhan…reports Asian Lite News

A UN human rights expert has called on the US to remove unilateral sanctions that may prevent the rebuilding of Syria’s civilian infrastructure destroyed by the decade-long conflict.

In a statement on Tuesday, Alena Douhan, UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, said that the sanctions violate the human rights of the Syrian people, whose country has been destroyed by almost 10 years of conflict, reports Xinhua news agency.

“The conflict and violence have already had a dire impact on the ability of the Syrian people to realize their fundamental rights, having extensively damaged houses, medical units, schools and other facilities,” she said.

According to the UN expert, the broad sweep of the US sanctions law that went into effect in June could target any foreigner helping in the reconstruction of the devastated country, and even employees of foreign companies and humanitarian operators helping rebuild Syria.

“I am concerned that sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act may exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria, especially in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, and put the Syrian people at even greater risk of human rights violations,” Douhan said.

The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, also known as the Caesar Act, is a US legislation that sanctions the Syrian government, including President Bashar al-Assad, for war crimes against civilians.

The Act was signed into law by US President Donald Trump in December 2019, and came into force on June 17, 2020.

“What particularly alarms me is the way the Caesar Act runs roughshod over human rights, including the Syrian people’s rights to housing, health, and an adequate standard of living and development,” she added.

Also read:US sanctions Syrian entities,officials

In a letter published by the office, Putin told Netanyahu that he is looking forward to extending their joint work in 2021 to “build up the entire range of bilateral ties, as well as interaction in addressing urgent issues on the regional and global agenda”…reports Asian Lite News

In a phone call, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed regional developments and ways to increase stability in the Middle East, according to an official statement issued here.

“The two discussed the situation in Syria, developments in the region and the actions necessary to increase regional stability,” Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office as saying following the call on Monday.

In a letter published by the office, Putin told Netanyahu that he is looking forward to extending their joint work in 2021 to “build up the entire range of bilateral ties, as well as interaction in addressing urgent issues on the regional and global agenda”.

During the call, the two leaders also exchanged New Year greetings.

The Russian and Israeli armies have been coordinating their moves in Syria to avoid clashes.

Russian forces have fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, while Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in the war-torn country against what it claims are Iranian targets and weapons convoys to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and political party.

Also read:Netanyahu gets Covid-19 vaccine

The remarks by the Iranian official came in response to a Washington Post report on December 23 which claimed that an Israeli submarine had embarked for the Gulf as a warning to Iran…reports Asian Lite News

Iran will give a “strong and massive” response to any Israeli submarine in the Gulf, a security official announced here.

“Israel must know that our response to aggression against our national security will be strong and massive,” Xinhua news agency quoted Abolfazl Amouei, spokesman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, as saying on Monday.

The remarks by the Iranian official came in response to a Washington Post report on December 23 which claimed that an Israeli submarine had embarked for the Gulf as a warning to Iran.

“Israel is looking for excuses to drag the region into a tension that creates chaos in the last days of (the US President Donald) Trump presidency,” Amouei said.

He also warned the neighbouring Arab countries that bringing Israel too close to Iran’s borders might create problems for them.

On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also elaborated on the issue, describing the Washington Post’s report as a “media assumption”.

Any risk for the Gulf security is “crossing Iran’s redlines”, he stressed.

Also read:Chinese envoy calls on Iran to return to nuke deal

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement that the three South Korean nationals who had stayed in London and arrived here on December 22 tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain…reports Asian Lite News

South Korea on Monday registered the country’s first cases from a more transmissible Covid-19 variant detected in three people who returned from the UK, where the strain was discovered last week.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement that the three South Korean nationals who had stayed in London and arrived here on December 22 tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain, reports Xinhua news agency.

The three people were confirmed to be infected when they took tests after arrival, and have been under quarantine.

Four other South Koreans, who arrived here on November 8 and December 13 from Britain, also tested positive for the virus and have been under investigation to ascertain if they were infected with the new variant.

Among them, one man in his 80s had posthumously tested positive.

His three other family members were also infected with the virus.

The new strain, found in Britain, is known to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than the old one.

South Korea announced a plan to suspend all flights from Britain between December 23 to 31.

In the latest tally, the country reported 808 new cases, raising the total number of infections to 57,680.

The daily caseload stayed below 1,000 for two days.

Eleven more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 819.

Also read:South Korea fines Facebook for sharing private information