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Showing posts from May 23, 2021

India slams UNGA President Volkan Bozkir's remarks on Kashmir during his Pakistan visit, says his standing diminished

  New Delhi:  India has expressed its "strong opposition" to the comments made by United Nations General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir on Kashmir during his visit to Pakistan. Dismissing his "unwarranted references" on Jammu and Kashmir, the  Ministry of External Affairs  (MEA) in a strongly worded statement called the comments "unacceptable". The statement said, "when an incumbent President of the UN General Assembly makes misleading and prejudiced remarks, he does a great disservice to the office he occupies" adding, his "behaviour is truly regrettable and surely diminishes his standing on the global platform." India also dismissed equating of Palestine and J&K saying that there is no " basis for comparison to other global situations." During his Pakistan visit, the  UNGA President  equated Palestine with Jammu and Kashmir issue and said it's the "duty of Pakistan to bring this to UN Platform more strongly&qu

Duterte’s ‘Red-Tagging’ Risks Igniting the Philippines’ Maoist Insurgency: Left wing extremism

 The communist insurgency in the Philippines is into its sixth decade. Since its formation in 1969, the New People’s Army (NPA)—the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), formed a year earlier—has fought a low-level guerrilla war against government troops. Over that time, much has remained the same. The CPP’s founder Jose Maria Sison remains at the helm, albeit now aged 82 and living in self-imposed exile in the Netherlands. Across the Philippines, NPA insurgents still target soldiers and police officers in roadside ambushes before retreating to their isolated rural hideouts. Amid this violence, peace talks have failed under six successive Philippine leaders, including current president Rodrigo Duterte since 2016. His  election —as an outsider candidate hailing from Mindanao where the insurgents are most active—initially led to hopes of a breakthrough. Yet since peace talks collapsed a year into his tenure, the proliferation of “red-tagging,” whereby senior officia

Cop stabbed by radicalised Islamist ex-prisoner on threat watch list in France

  A radicalised French ex-prisoner on a watch list of potential terrorist threats stabbed a policewoman inside her station in western France on Friday before being killed in a shoot-out with police, a government minister said. The victim was seriously wounded but expected to survive, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. The assailant had been released from prison in March following an eight-year sentence for violent crime and was on a security services register for individuals who might pose a terrorism risk. "He was flagged in 2016 for a strict practice of Islam, for radicalisation," Darmanin told reporters after visiting the police station in Chapelle-sur-Erdre, near Nantes, where the attack occurred. The attack bore chilling echoes of the fatal stabbing of a female police administrative worker near Paris a month ago. Stephanie Monferme was killed in the doorway to her police station by a Tunisian national who had watched Islamic religious videos glorifying acts of jihad

Military Gender Advocate of the Year highlights ‘crucial gender dimensions’ in Darfur

Secretary-General António Guterres  lauded 32-year-old Military Gender Advisor Steplyne Nyaboga who served in the recently completed UN-African Hybrid Union Operation in Darfur ( UNAMID ), for the excellence of her work, for which she was awarded the 2020 UN  Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award .     “Peace and security can only be achieved and sustained if all members of society have equal opportunities, protection, access to resources and services and can participate in decision-making”, he said.   “Through her efforts, Major Nyaboga introduced new perspectives and increased awareness of crucial gender dimensions across the Mission and helped strengthen our engagement with Darfuri women”, Mr. Guterres added.   Mainstreaming gender dimensions  Reflecting on her peacekeeping role, Major Nyaboga said that she was “elated” that the UN’s efforts in serving humanity have had a positive impact and were being recognized.   “Peacekeeping is a human enterprise: placing women and girls a

Islamic Extremist Accused of Shooting, Injuring 3 in Times Square Charged

Islamic Extremist  accused of shooting and injuring three people in Times Square earlier this the month has been charged after arriving in New York from Florida where he was arrested.   Farrakhan Muhammad, 31, is charged with attempted murder and multiple counts of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm, the New York Police Department said on Friday. Muhammad has denied that he is responsible for the shooting on May 8 that wounded two women and a 4-year-old girl. The victims did not know each other. New York Police Department Chief of Detectives James Essig has said that Muhammad was identified as the gunman by his brother, who told officers he was the intended target of the shooting. U.S. Marshals arrested Muhammad near Jacksonville, Florida, four days after the shooting, along with a woman who authorities said traveled with him from New York. Muhammad spoke to WCJB-TV from county jail in Florida telling them that he had not been in New York at the time of the sh

Left wing extremism: Three Maoists arrested, explosives seized in Telangana

  During checks, the officials also seized 10 gelatin sticks, three detonators, four Nippo batteries and some electric wire. KHAMMAM: In a major hunt, the Manuguru police arrested three Maoists and seized explosive materials from their possession. According to Kothagudem Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Dutt, the arrested persons have been identified as Savalam Pojja alias Bhimaiah, 24, hailing from Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, Sode Seetaiah alias Mahender, 26, a resident of Pega village in Andhra Pradesh, and Kunja Jogaiah alias Appa Rao, 28, belonging to Surakunta village in Andhra Pradesh. During checks, the officials also seized 10 gelatin sticks, three detonators, four Nippo batteries and some electric wire. Speaking to the media, the SP said that the three Maoists were apprehended while the Manuguru police officials were carrying out vehicl e checks near the Hanuman temple. The three arrested persons were travelling in a swift car. During interrogation, the three admitted

MHA invites applications for citizenship from religious persecuted refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh

  New Delhi: The Centre on Friday invited religious persecuted persons like Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and residing in 13 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship. The Union home ministry issued a notification in this effect for immediate implementation of the order under the Citizenship Act 1955 and Rules framed under the law in 2009. The fresh order is no way connected to the  Citizenship Amendment Act  enacted in 2019. The Rules under the CAA are yet to be framed by the government. When the CAA was enacted in 2019, there were widespread protests in different parts of the country and even riots took place in Delhi in early 2020 in the wake of these protests. According to the CAA, Indian citizenship will be given to non-Muslim persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan -- Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian -- who had come to India till D

Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Warnings of genocide and famine

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 The patriarch of Ethiopia's Orthodox Church recently ignited controversy when he said that genocide was being committed in the northern Tigray region. His Holiness Abune Matthias - an ethnic Tigrayan himself - explained that since the outbreak of conflict in November between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), his "mouth had been sealed, unable to speak from fear". Abune Matthias' emotional statement resonated with many Tigrayans, who are deeply traumatized by the violence in their region. More than two million people have been displaced in the conflict. Through protests in capitals around the world and via social media, members of the diaspora have united to campaign against what they insist is genocide. The Ethiopian government rejects reports of mass atrocities as exaggerated and politically motivated. Breaking with the traditional hierarchy of the Ethiopian church, the Orthodox Synod distanced itself from the patriarch'

Hong Kong organisers lose appeal to hold Tiananmen vigil: Chinese persecution

  Organisers of an annual vigil to commemorate the Chinese Communist government's bloody crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 said on Saturday, they had lost an appeal to hold this year's rally. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China planned to hold a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park next Friday.  This marks the second year that Hong Kong police have banned the vigil, citing coronavirus restrictions.  “We have to apologise to the public. Hong Kong Alliance can no longer organise the candlelight vigil this year in a lawful manner. We will stop promoting the vigil, said Richard Tsoi of the alliance to the press.  “On that day, we won’t, as an organisation and members of Hong Kong Alliance, appear and join.”  Tsoi said he believed Hong Kong people would still commemorate the June 4 crackdown on pro-democracy activists in a peaceful manner.  Samuel Chu, who runs the Hong Kong Democracy Coun

Vatican Ordered probe on German Diocese Over Child Sex Abuse

  Pope Francis has ordered an apostolic visitation of the archdiocese of Cologne, which has been rocked by a damning report on child sex abuse, the diocese said Friday. The Pope has appointed two “apostolic visitors” charged with establishing a “comprehensive picture of the complex pastoral situation in the archdiocese”, it said in a statement. They will also examine “possible mistakes made” by Cologne’s Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki. An apostolic visitation is normally launched when the Pope judges that a diocese is no longer able to resolve its difficulties internally. Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm and Bishop Johannes van den Hende of Rotterdam will carry out their investigations over the first two weeks of June. The probe comes as Woelki faces a wave of criticism, including allegations that he helped cover up abuse by two priests in Duesseldorf, one of whom has since died. Woelki welcomed the pontiff’s decision however, calling it “good and correct” because it will provid

The European Court of Human Rights condemns Sweden for massive surveillance on personal data.

  On 25th May 2021, the Grand-Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in its examination about the case Centrum för rättvisa v. Sweden condemned the State for breaching out the article 8 (right to respect for private and family life, the home and correspondence) of the European Convention of Human Rights.  The case concerned the applicant’s claims that the communications of his foundation had been intercepted and assessed by intelligence and security organs and mechanisms while he communicated with individuals, organisations and companies in Sweden and abroad by email, telephone and fax, often on sensitive matters.  The European judges held that, whilst the Swedish bulk interception regime fulfilled the majority of the requirements of the European Convention about the quality of law, it lacked three essential aspects: It did not have a clear rule on destroying intercepted material that did not contain personal data, it lacked a requirement in the Signals Intelligence Act or other

Google, Facebook, WhatsApp agree to appoint officers in line with new IT rules

  NEW DELHI: In the midst of a bitter battle with social media companies over new rules for IT intermediaries, the government made some headway on Friday as top players like Google, Facebook and WhatsApp agreed to appoint statutory officers in line with the guidelines. Twitter, which so far steadfastly refused to comply with the rules, proposed the name of an outside consultant, though this was summarily rejected by the government as they were not in consonance with the guidelines. The fresh move comes amidst raging debate over the new IT rules that has also seen WhatsApp move the Delhi HC over its denial to track the origins of “unlawful” messages, and Twitter accuse the government of “dangerous overreach that is inconsistent with open, democratic principles”. Friday saw a change as a majority of companies expressed willingness to start complying with a section of the provisions.  LinkedIn (owned by Microsoft), Telegram, Google, Facebook and WhatsApp shared details of their chief comp

'Heinous Crimes Against Women Too': Panel Submits Report on Post-poll Violence in Bengal

The four-member committee submitted the report on post-poll violence in West Bengal on Saturday before the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri G Kishan Reddy in New Delhi. The panel informed the Union Minister on various criminal incidents in the state, including heinous crimes against the women that took place in the state after election results on May 2. A delegation of the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA) led by convener Monika Arora, Advocate Supreme Court of India, presented a fact finding report on post-poll violence in Bengal titled as “Khela in Bengal 2021” before Union Minister of State G Kishan Reddy.  The Union ministry of home affairs had sought a report from the Bengal government over reports of this post-poll violence in the state earlier this month. A four-member team of the Union Home Ministry, tasked with looking into reasons for the post- poll violence in West Bengal. The ministry has sought a report from Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on the law-and

Grave concerns over 'dire' and deteriorating situation in war-torn Tigray region

  In an alert, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency,  UNFPA ,   said  that it was aware of “gross violations”, including gender-based violence in the war-torn north.  Vile attacks  “The situation of women and adolescent girls in Tigray and border areas of Amhara and Afar remains dire”, said  UNFPA  Executive Director  Natalia Kanem . “We see alarming levels of sexual violence, and thousands of women lack access to health and protection services.”  In a related development, the Office of the High Commissioner for refugee agency ( UNHCR ) condemned the reported abduction of “at least several hundred” youths from camps for displaced people in Tigray earlier this week.  This echoed prior comments by the  UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia , Catherine Sozi, who condemned the reported arbitrary arrests, beatings and ill-treatment by soldiers of more than 200 people during night-time military raids on internal displacement camps in the region on Monday.  Ms. Sozi noted that the a

Nigeria: Surviving Boko Haram

  Borno state, in northeastern Nigeria, has been ravaged by a deadly conflict between the military and Boko Haram jihadists for more than a decade. Last autumn, the authorities announced that they wanted to close the Borno refugee camps as they claimed the insurgency was almost eradicated. However, in recent months, deadly attacks have taken place on the outskirts of the regional capital Maiduguri. Our team met some of the two million displaced people who have fled the fighting. source  Nigeria: Surviving Boko Haram (msn.com)

How India’s demand for WhatsApp traceability is in line with what US, Australia, Canada, and others are already working on

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  The Indian government in its response to  WhatsApp ’s lawsuit claiming tracing of encrypted messages violates the right to privacy of citizens highlighted the “international precedence” of such requirements. The government defended itself by saying that the ‘Five Countries’-- United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada -- are also in support of similar IT rules that give power to governments to intercept  encrypted communications  to protect citizens.  The criticism of such laws is obvious as any mode to intercept encrypted communications gives authorities more control over the online privacy of citizens. And there’s no denying that there’s always a risk that governments may use the same to suppress dissent.  At the same time, we also cannot ignore the fact that it takes less than $10 to buy a virtual phone number of a different country which can be used to activate an account on WhatsApp,  Signal  or  Telegram . And armed with AES-256 encryption, it would make i

FB encryption gives ‘free pass’ to suspects: MI5

  LONDON: Extremism on social media is as much a national security risk now as terrorism from  Afghanistan  or  Syria , the head of UK domestic intelligence has warned as he slammed Facebook in particular.  “Self-initiated terrorists” remain a bigger threat than plots on the scale of 9/11..., MI5 chief Ken McCallum said in an interview, adding, suspects as young as 13 have been radicalised online. “Decisions taken in  California  boardrooms are every bit as relevant to our ability to do our jobs as decisions taken in Afghanistan or Syria,” he said. “We absolutely do not want to live in a society where the state has a camera in everyone’s living room. But our job is to deal with a one-in-a-million case, where the  living room  is a terrorist living room.” And hence, he added, FB’s plan to roll out end-to-end encryption gives offenders “a free pass”. Source:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/fb-encryption-gives-free-pass-to-suspects-mi5/articleshow/82849570.cms