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Renewed Conflict in Myanmar Forces 26,000 to Flee: UN

According to UN, the latest figures bring the total number of internally displaced people due to conflict between the two sides to approximately 90,000…reports Asian Lite News

More than 26,000 from Myanmar’s Rakhine state have been displaced since Monday after fresh fighting between Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and the Arakan Army (AA) according to the United Nations, CNN reported on Saturday.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a statement that the latest figures bring the total number of internally displaced people due to conflict between the two sides to approximately 90,000.

Notably, 11 deaths and over 30 injuries have been reported since an informal ceasefire agreed a year ago broke on November 13, the statement read.

It added that over 100 people have reportedly been detained by the MAF and five by the AA, CNN reported.

Battles between the military and resistance groups have unfolded almost daily across Myanmar since Army General Min Aung Hlaing seized power in February 2021, plunging the country into economic chaos and fresh civil war, according to CNN.

The most recent fighting began when the AA reportedly attacked two border posts near the Maungdaw township, which is near the border with Bangladesh.

The two parties had previously established an informal ceasefire in November 2022, according to the UN body.

It added that there have been reports of MAF shelling in AA-controlled areas and that the military had conducted at least one operation backed by air and naval support.

Most humanitarian activities have been suspended due to the fighting and “virtually all roads and waterways” between Rakhine townships have been blocked, CNN reported citing the statement..

Airstrikes and ground attacks on what the MAF calls “terrorist” targets have occurred regularly since 2021 and killed thousands of civilians, including children, CNN reported citing monitoring groups.

Meanwhile, around 5000 people from Myanmar have entered the Indian state of Mizoram following a fresh airstrike by the Myanmar army in the bordering areas along the Indo-Myanmar border.

In the wake of the situation. India has called for the end of violence after an airstrike at the Indo-Myanmar border and emphasised the resolution of the situation through constructive dialogue.

“Our position on the ongoing situation in Myanmar is very clear. We want secession of the violence and the resolution of the situation through constructive dialogue. We reiterate our call for the return of peace, stability and democracy in Myanmar,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday in a weekly briefing.

Bagchi further emphasised that, as a result of fighting in the Rikhawdar area, which is opposite Zokhawthar on the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram, in the Chin state of Myanmar, “there has been a movement of Myanmar nationals to the Indian side. We are deeply concerned with such incidents close to our border.”

“We reiterate our call for the return of peace, stability and democracy in Myanmar,” Bagchi stressed.

According to Reuters, Myanmar’s military junta is facing its biggest test since taking power in a 2021 coup after three ethnic minority forces launched a coordinated offensive in late October, capturing some towns and military posts.

Last week, the military-installed president said that Myanmar was at risk of “breaking apart” because of an ineffective response to the rebellion. As per Reuters, the new combat will be another blow for the junta, which is increasingly stretched amid mounting armed opposition, fuelled by anger over the coup and crackdown. (ANI)

Myanmar Nationals in India Fear Going Back

Myanmar nationals who fled from their country following the recent airstrike by the Myanmar army in the bordering areas of Myanmar are now taking shelter in the Zokhawthar area in the Champhai district of Mizoram.

Despite losing everything, the people of Sekan village who are taking refuge in India are hopeful to return to their native country.

Around 500 people from Sekan village crossed over the border and entered the Zokhawthar area, which is the nearest village in Champhai district and shares an unfenced border with Myanmar.

According to the villagers of Sekan village, almost all houses in the village were burnt down by the Myanmar army and they lost everything.

Most of the villagers are marginal farmers and some are construction workers. They have been living in different refugee camps in the Zokhawthar area since September 2021.

Following the recent airstrike by the Myanmar army in the bordering areas of Myanmar, the refugees are now afraid to go back to their own country.

Lalremruati, a mother of a 3-month-old child and resident of Sekan village of Chin State, who is now living with her family members at a refugee camp in Zokhawthar, told ANI that she was in China when the military coup happened in her own country.

“My family had faced so many problems. The military came to our village and went one by one, knocked on the doors and asked them to come out. Some people were very scared. The military broke out the doors and let them come out. At that time was very bad. Last year, the military burned down the houses. The second time, they also burnt many houses in our village. Our village is almost finished. We have lost everything,” Lalremruati said.

She further said that, in Zokhawthar, the people of Mizoram, YMA, NGOs are taking care of the refugees.

“They are helping us to stay here. They are providing us with food. Many people in our village are now residing in the Zokhawthar area and some people are living in other parts of Champhai district. We want to go back to our own village. But, there is nothing. People are crying. We have lost everything, we have lost our house. We fear….. we are very sad. All the people cry inside the camps. We have no future anymore. We can’t work here. People of other villages also faced similar problems. Our village was badly affected,” Lalremruati said.

Vanhningcer, another refugee of Sekan village and a mother of two child said that, the present situation in Myanmar is very bad.

“My home was also burnt down. In this situation, we can’t go back to our village. Many people died, there was no work for us and we hadn’t money, so we come to India. We want to go back, but can’t, because my village is no more. We had lost everything, we have no home to live,” Vanhningcer said.

Hrangnothanga, a villager of Sekon village who is now residing along with his family at a refugee camp in the Zokhawthar area, said that he also lost everything and now he is now thinking about the future of his children and his family. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Lawmakers Call on Biden Administration to Assess Human Rights Violations in Pakistan

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China Tries to Block Uyghur Activist at UN

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A Chinese diplomat interrupted Dolkun Isa’s speech and demanded the floor to object…reporst Asian Lite News

Uyghur Congress president Dolkun Isa was interrupted twice by the Chinese as he began speaking in a general debate during the 54th Session of the UNHRC in Geneva on Wednesday.

A Chinese diplomat interrupted his speech and demanded the floor to object. The Chinese diplomat said Isa is not a representative of the “so-called NGO”. However, UN Human Rights Council Vice President Asim Ahmed allowed Uyghur activists to complete his statement.

In his intervention, Dolkun Isa said, “Once again, I’m in this Council to urge member states and UN bodies to act on the ongoing Uyghur genocide in China. It’s been over a year since the OHCHR assessment, but we haven’t seen any tangible action to address this situation”.

He added, “Since then, many UN experts have repeated their concerns, including the CERD. The CESCR and CEDAW committees have also issued their concluding observations urging China to end the counter-terrorism policies legitimizing the repression”.

Just yesterday, UN special rapporteurs have expressed grave concerns over the forced separation of Uyghur children with the expansion of the state-run boarding schools and the erosion of their linguistic rights.

Isa told the UN, “Despite the increasing number of UN documents, this Council has failed to meaningfully address accountability avenues”.

“In the meantime, Uyghurs in the diaspora are watching our relatives disappear one by one, receiving news about their deaths, and constantly facing reprisals. Just a few days ago, we learned about Prof. Rahile Dawut’s life imprisonment. My own brother Hushtar Isa also was sentenced to life. I lost My mother in a concentration camp”, he added.

Dolkan Isa said in his statement, “In a recent visit to Urumchi, Xi Jinping repeated that the counter-terrorism policies are a long-term plan, stating that the repression will not end anytime soon. We must remember to uphold the promise of Never Again”.

While speaking to ANI, the Uyghur Congress President condemnded the act, and alleged that the Chinese government was trying to “hide the truth.”

“It was not the first time. Of course, the Chinese government don’t want to see me as a council. The Chinese government don’t want Uygur’s voice to rise in the UN humanitarian council because today millions of people are still suffering in concentration camps,” he said.

He further claimed, “More than a million Uyghur children separate from family. This is a serious issue today. This is the correct platform to raise this issue. But the Chinese government don’t want it. Chinese government trying to hide the reality Chinese government trying to hide its crime in front of the UN and the other international platforms.”

Earlier on September 26, The United Nations expressed concern over the allegations of a significant expansion of Xinjiang’s State-run boarding school system in China which fails to provide education in the children’s mother tongue and forcibly separates Uyghur and other minority Muslim children from their families and communities, leading to their forced assimilation, said an official press release from United Nations Human Rights.

The release from the UN said that the Uyghur children placed in these boarding schools reportedly have little or no access to education in the Uyghur language and are under increasing pressure to speak and learn only Mandarin (Putonghua), as opposed to education aimed at achieving bilingualism in both Uyghur and Mandarin. Teachers can also be sanctioned for using the Uyghur language outside of specific language classes. (ANI)

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PoK Youth Forced into Terrorism, UN Forum Informed

Political activists informed that several Kashmiris have been killed in different cities of Pakistan and not a single murderer is arrested or punished….reports Asian Lite News

Political activists from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir raised the issue of terrorism in the region and informed the United Nations that youth in PoK are forced to join banned extremist groups who take up arms training to carry out terror attacks.

In his intervention during the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Nasir Aziz Khan, central spokesperson of the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) said, “Despite Pakistan’s claims of controlling extremist groups, ongoing atrocities persist, such as the recent abduction of more than 20 teenage boys in Bagh, Azad Kashmir. These boys have been forcibly taken by internationally banned extremist groups for armed training and so-called Jihad”.

“This incident reveals the deep-rooted problem of extremist influence in the region, leaving families and loved ones in anguish due to the unknown whereabouts of their children,” said Nasir.

The political activist said, “Radical jirgas and extremist groups operate with impunity. The deep state acts like a state above the state, making arbitrary decisions and denying justice. Extremist groups disrupt daily life, targeting weddings, funerals, and burials, particularly affecting women’s mobility and freedom. Violence against religious minorities and Kashmiris is on the rise”.

He informed that several Kashmiris have been killed in different cities of Pakistan and not a single murderer is arrested or punished.

Nasir also said that incidents like the torching of churches, ransacking of Christian homes, and vandalism of a graveyard in Jaranwala, Faisalabad, on August 16, 2023, allegedly due to blasphemy, are deeply concerning.

“Pro-independence Kashmiris and rights activists are facing severe threats, harassment, and violence. Pakistan’s military and law enforcement’s land grabbing activities are harming the environment, endangering local biodiversity, and undermining climate resilience”, he said.

Another political activist from PoK, Professor Sajjad Raja said currently the people of PoK and Gilgit Baltistan are protesting by shutting down cities and continuous sit-in protests have been taking place for over 180 days.

“People are demanding that Pakistan provide them with wheat flour to live on but Pakistan pays no attention to our demands”, he said.

Prof Sajjad, who is the Chairman of National Equality Party JKGBL, told the UN that Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir produces electricity at the cost of 2.03 PKR per unit, but this electricity is sold back to us for 50 to 80 PKR per unit.

“Our need is only 400 MW in POJK and despite producing over 2000 MW of electricity we are subjected to load shedding for over 16 hours a day”, he said.

“We also lack any economic and physical infrastructure and employment opportunities. Under these conditions, our people are unable to survive and are fleeing out of POJK. We request the international community to expel Pakistan from our state as required by the UN Resolutions so that we can live peacefully on our own land”, Raja told the UN. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Pakistanis voice against Uyghur persecution in Xinjiang

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Ukraine in spotlight at UN leaders’ gathering

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on Ukraine, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS)

For the first time in years, President Joe Biden will be the only leader from the five powerful veto-wielding nations on the U.N. Security Council attending in person….reports Asian Lite News

The war in Ukraine and its visiting president take center stage at the United Nations this week, but developing countries will be vying for the spotlight as well as they push for faster action on poverty and inequality at the first full-on meeting of world leaders since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel three years ago.

The annual meeting at the U.N. General Assembly takes place at a polarizing and divisive juncture in history — the most fraught and dangerous since the Cold War, according to many analysts and diplomats.

They point to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which upended already difficult relations among major powers as well as the ongoing impact of the pandemic, high food prices, the worsening climate emergency, escalating conflicts, and the world’s failure to tackle poverty, hunger and gender inequality.

For developing countries, the top priority is the U.N.’s two-day summit starting Monday aimed at generating action by world leaders to achieve 17 wide-ranging and badly lagging global goals by 2030. In addition to ending extreme poverty and hunger, the goals include ensuring quality secondary education for all children, achieving gender equality and taking urgent action to combat climate change. At current rates, not a single one will be achieved.

“We find ourselves at a critical juncture in human history,” former Liberian president and Nobel peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said last week.

When the annual high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly begins Tuesday, presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from 145 countries are scheduled to speak, a very high number that reflects the multitude of global crises and lack of action.

For the first time in years, President Joe Biden will be the only leader from the five powerful veto-wielding nations on the U.N. Security Council attending in person. This has sparked private grumbling from developing-country diplomats that key global players won’t be listening to their demands, which need billions of dollars to implement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended last month’s Johannesburg summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Russian President Vladimir Putin, sought by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, didn’t go to South Africa and isn’t coming to New York. French President Emmanuel Macron, who attended last year, opted out to host Britain’s King Charles in Paris next week, and Rishi Sunak will be the first British prime minister to skip the General Assembly in a decade, officially due to a busy schedule.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters last week that he didn’t think a leader’s presence “is more relevant or less relevant.” What counts, he said, is whether their government is prepared to make commitments on the U.N. goals and many other issues during the week. “So this is not a vanity fair,” he said.

Richard Gowan, U.N. director of the International Crisis Group, said that after the recent meeting in New Delhi of the Group of 20 major economic powers, “for some European leaders right now there is not a lot of political capital in going to big summits, and you need to be seen at home a lot more.”

He called the situation at the United Nations “bleak,” saying “it feels like we are a lot closer to a cliff edge in U.N. diplomacy” than a year ago. “Major power tensions are having a more and more serious effect on the organization,” he said.

With the four leaders sending lower-ranking ministers, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is certain to grab even more attention, with the war in its 19th month and no end in sight. Biden, who speaks Tuesday, will also be closely watched for U.S. views on Ukraine, China and Russia.

Zelenskyy also addresses the assembly Tuesday and will attend a Security Council meeting Wednesday on Ukraine focusing on the principles of the U.N. Charter, which require every country to respect others’ sovereignty and territorial integrity. The meeting could create the unique spectacle of placing Zelenskyy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the same room.

Underlying the entire week is the prospect that the very reason for the United Nations’ existence — to bring countries together to foster peace and security — is becoming more difficult because of divisions between the West, Russia and China, and the rise of regional and like-minded groups that are creating a multipolar world.

Guterres, who will deliver his state-of-the-world address at Tuesday’s opening of what is called the General Debate, says he will tell world leaders that now is not a time for “posturing or positioning,” or for “indifference or indecision.”

“This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions,” the U.N. chief said. “It is time for compromise for a better tomorrow.”

Guterres, who says the Ukraine war has aggravated divisions, said the current shift to a fragmented “multipolar world” isn’t going to solve the planet’s myriad issues.

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The world needs compromise, says UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening of the high-level meeting on Tuyesday, September 20, 2022. (Photo: UN).

Guterres made the remarks at a press conference held ahead of the high-level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly….reports Asian Lite News

It is in the interest of everybody to have a global compromise, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.

Guterres made the remarks at a press conference held ahead of the high-level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

Beginning on 18 Sept, world leaders and delegates will gather at the United Nations headquarters in New York to participate in a series of high-level meetings and events.

“My appeal to world leaders will be clear,” Guterres said. “This is not a time for posturing or positioning. This is not a time for indifference or indecision. This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions. It is time for compromise for a better tomorrow.”

“Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise. Effective leadership is compromise,” he added.

The high-level week is a one-of-a-kind moment each year for leaders from every corner of the globe to not only assess the state of the world, but to act for the common good, he said, stressing that “action is what the world needs now.”)

The world leaders are gathering at a time when humanity faces huge challenges, from the worsening climate emergency to escalating conflicts, the global cost-of-living crisis, soaring inequalities and dramatic technological disruptions, said Guterres.

“People are looking to their leaders for a way out of this mess. Yet in the face of all this and more, geopolitical divisions are undermining our capacity to respond,” he said.

A multipolar world is emerging. While multipolarity can be a factor of equilibrium, it can also lead to escalating tensions, fragmentation and worse, Guterres noted.

“But at a time when our challenges are more connected than ever, the outcome of a zero-sum game is that everyone gets zero,” he said.

The UN chief told reporters that although there are divisions, different interests, different visions and different cultures, the world needs compromise.

“If we want a future of peace and prosperity based on equity and solidarity, leaders have a special responsibility to achieve compromise in designing our common future for our common good,” he said. “Next week here in New York is the place to start.”

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2023 aid worker casualties set to rise: UN

South Sudan has ranked highest in insecurity for several consecutive years. Forty attacks on aid workers and 22 fatalities have been reported as of this week….reports Asian Lite News

Ahead of World Humanitarian Day on August 19, the UN has warned that 2023 is set to become another year of high numbers of aid worker casualties.

So far this year, 62 humanitarian workers have been killed in crises around the world, 84 were injured and 34 kidnapped, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, citing provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database research team at Humanitarian Outcomes.

Last year’s annual death toll had reached 116.

South Sudan has ranked highest in insecurity for several consecutive years. Forty attacks on aid workers and 22 fatalities have been reported as of this week.

Sudan is a close second, with 17 attacks on humanitarians and 19 fatalities reported so far this year.

This toll surpasses numbers not seen since the height of the Darfur conflict between 2006 and 2009.

Other aid worker casualties have been recorded in the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia and Ukraine.

Last year, 444 aid workers were attacked. The previous year, 460 humanitarians were attacked, resulting in 141 deaths.

This year’s World Humanitarian Day also marks 20 years since the 2003 suicide bomb attack on the UN headquarters in the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed 22 UN staff.

Some 150 more people — local and international aid workers helping to reconstruct Iraq — were also injured on that dark day.

“World Humanitarian Day and the Canal Hotel bombing will always be an occasion of mixed and still raw emotions for me and many others,” said the UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths.

“Every year, nearly six times more aid workers are killed in the line of duty than were killed on that dark day in Baghdad, and they are overwhelmingly local aid workers. Impunity for these crimes is a scar on our collective conscience. It is time we walk the talk on upholding international humanitarian law and tackle impunity for violations.”

ALSO READ: UN: Sudan Conflict Sparks Major Humanitarian Crisis

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UN Targets North Korea Rights Violations 

Seoul : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) watches a sports event with his daughter and other top officials on Feb. 17, 2023, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (Yonhap/IANS)

It is the first time the council will hold a public session on the rights issue in the North Korea since 2017 and the US envoy said it is “long overdue.”…reports Asian Lite News

The United States has requested a public UN Security Council meeting on August 17 to review North Korea’s human rights record and how it relates to global peace and security, Voice of America (VOA) reported.

North Korea launched numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as a large number of ballistic missiles this year, according to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

North Korea frequently claims that the joint military drills between the United States and South Korea are to blame for the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula and claims that its missile programme is designed to intimidate and “strike fear” into its adversaries, VOA reported.

“We know the government’s human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in a joint interaction with the ambassadors of South Korea, Japan and Albania.

“The Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and the crimes being perpetrated daily by the Kim regime against its own citizens, and people from other member states, including Japan and the Republic of Korea,” the US envoy said about the systemic human rights abuses, VOA reported.

The United States holds the 15-nation Security Council’s rotating presidency this month and Thomas-Greenfield has said that human rights would be the core theme.

It is the first time the council will hold a public session on the rights issue in the North Korea since 2017 and the US envoy said it is “long overdue.”

Russia and China often argue that the Security Council is not the correct UN venue to discuss human rights issues. But a senior US official who briefed reporters Thursday said none of the other forums focuses on the links between North Korea’s WMD (Weapon of mass destruction) and ballistic missile advancements, which is why the Security Council must be briefed on the issue, VOA reported.

Moscow and Beijing could call for a procedural vote in a bid to block the meeting. Nine of the 15 council members would then have to vote in favour of holding it for the meeting to happen. The senior US official said Washington is “in a comfortable place” in terms of having sufficient council support.

The council will be briefed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in North Korea Elizabeth Salmón, as well as a civil society representative, VOA reported.

“Protecting people around the world is an integral part of the UN Charter and an important responsibility of the Security Council,” the ambassador said.

“And that means holding the DPRK regime accountable for its human rights abuses and violations,” the ambassador added.

DPRK is the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The senior US official said that Pyongyang’s use of forced labour to fund its illicit weapons programs would also be highlighted at the session.

The Kim government’s human rights abuses are well known. The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) and other independent human rights experts have documented testimony from hundreds of defectors.

In 2014, the COI found that North Korea’s violations had risen to the level of crimes against humanity. Among them, the report found, “extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.”

According to VOA, the last time the council discussed North Korea’s human rights was at an informal, “Arria” style meeting in March. China objected to it, saying it was not constructive and would not ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and blocked the consensus necessary to broadcast it on the United Nations website. (ANI)

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Indian-origin British expert to head UN Outer Space Office

Aarti Holla-Maini is a member of the Advisory Board of the Satellite Industry Association of India…reports Asian Lite News

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Indian-origin expert Aarti Holla-Maini to head the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Announcing the nomination, Guterres’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday that she “brings to this position over 25 years of professional experience in the space sector including in managerial and advocacy functions”.

Haq also said that Usha Rao-Monari of India will be leaving her position as the associate administrator of the UN Development Programme which has the rank of Under Secretary General and will be succeeded by Haoliang Xu of China.

The Vienna-based UN space office “works to promote international cooperation in the peaceful use and exploration of space, and in the utilisation of space science and technology for sustainable economic and social development”, Haq said.

Holla-Maini, who is from Britain, has been the Secretary-General of the Global Satellite Operators Association, Executive Vice President at NorthStar Earth and Space, and founder and President of Orbitz Consulting.

She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Satellite Industry Association of India.

Rao-Monari, who is an infrastructure investment expert, previously served as CEO of Global Water Development Partners, a Blackstone company where she was also a senior advisor before her appointment to the UN post in 2021.

She was also a director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation

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180+ countries to join Modi-led Yoga event at UN

After celebrating Yoga Day in New York, the prime minister will then travel to Washington D.C., where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22, and meet President Biden to continue their high-level dialogue, reports Asian Lite News

People belonging to more than 180 countries will participate in the Yoga Day event at the United Nations headquarters in New York which will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates in the mass yoga demonstration at Rajpath (now Kartavya Path) on the occasion of International Yoga Day in New Delhi.

According to sources, this year’s Yoga Day event will be special since PM Modi will be leading the celebration on a large scale. The event will witness prominent people from all walks of life. He will be joined by people from more than 180 countries. Eminent personalities like Diplomats, leaders, artists, cultural icons, academicians, and entrepreneurs will be part of the event.

PM Modi will start his first state visit to the US on June 20. The visit will commence in New York where the Prime Minister will lead the celebrations of the International Day of Yoga at the United Nations Headquarters on June 21.

After celebrating Yoga Day in New York, the prime minister will then travel to Washington D.C., where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22, and meet President Biden to continue their high-level dialogue.

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a State Dinner in honour of the Prime Minister the same evening, according to a release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

PM Modi will at the invitation of US Congressional Leaders, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Speaker of the Senate Charles Schumer, address a Joint Sitting of the US Congress on June 22.

On June 23, the prime minister will be jointly hosted at a luncheon by US Vice President Kamala Harris and State Secretary Antony Bilnken. In addition to official engagements, the Prime Minister is scheduled to have several curated interactions with leading CEOs, professionals, and other stakeholders. He will also meet members of the Indian Diaspora. (ANI)

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UN extends helping hands to people fleeing Sudan violence

People wait to be evacuated near an airport in Omdurman, Sudan. (Xinhua)

The International Organisation for Migration said the conflict has displaced more than 8,43,000 people inside Sudan….reports Asian Lite News

The UN has released $22 million to aid people fleeing the hostilities in Sudan into four neighbouring countries, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that UN Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, the relief chief, authorised the funds to help support about 2,50,000 people the UN Refugee Agency reported seeking safety in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.

Fighting between two military factions broke out in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum on April 15 and spread elsewhere in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

OCHA said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, Violet Kakyomya, visited refugees and returnees at the border in Koufroun earlier on Friday.

The office said renewed violence in Sudan’s West Darfur state drove about 30,000 people to cross into Chad in the last week. Humanitarian agencies are working closely with the government to scale up the response.

The International Organisation for Migration said the conflict has displaced more than 8,43,000 people inside Sudan.

Since the fighting broke out, the WHO verified 34 attacks on healthcare, leading to eight deaths and 18 injuries, impacting 21 facilities.

WHO said it delivered medicines and medical supplies in Sudan to the State Ministry of Health and partners in the states of Aj Jazirah, Gedaref, Kassala, Northern State and River Nile. More than 30 ton of additional emergency health supplies are heading to Wad Madani from Port Sudan.

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