BRUSSELS — The United Kingdom and the European Union on June 21 imposed fresh sanctions on Myanmar state-owned entities and individuals related to the February 1, 2021, military coup and the subsequent violent repression of peaceful protesters. According to a European Union press release, the 27-member European bloc slapped sanctions on eight individuals, three economic entities, and the Myanmar War Veterans Organization about the military coup staged in Myanmar, Burma. The individuals targeted by sanctions include ministers and deputy ministers, and the attorney general, who are responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law and serious human rights violations. The four entities are…
Author: zenger.news
LONDON — On the issue of Ahmadi Muslims being a frequent target of blasphemy laws in Pakistan, Knox Thames, a former U.S. adviser on religious minorities in Asia, said it has become quite dangerous to be an Ahmadi in Pakistan. Thames, a visiting expert at the United States Institute of Peace, said at a podcast with Peace for Asia that Ahmadis, who had left from colonial India to Pakistan during partition in 1947, view themselves as within Islam and claim their Muslim identity as a critical part of their faith. “Islamic schools of thought generally have viewed Ahmadi ideology as outside of Islam,” Thames said.…
KATHMANDU, Nepal — China Railway Construction Corporation, a Chinese firm based in Beijing working on a project in Nepal’s Sindhupalchok district, has witnessed people’s fury over the landslide incidents and damage to houses in the community. People in the Himalayan nation protested against the Chinese company and demanded payment for damages faced by them. They blamed the company for causing severe environmental disasters causing landslides, and damaging houses at the location. Last week, a widespread flood in Nepal damaged critical infrastructure. Officials said the excess rains had led to the rivers overflowing due to the suspected glacier burst, which resulted in widespread destruction.…
HARIDWAR, India — Investigations have revealed that a private agency accused of irregularities in Covid-19 tests during the recent ‘Kumbh Mela’ in the northern Indian city of Haridwar continued to upload data on the Indian Council of Medical Research portal even after its agreement with the Mela administration concluded, said the police. Millions of devotees and ash-smeared ascetics congregate at the Kumbh Mela to take a dip in the river Ganga. The ritual is believed to wash away sins and free people from the cycle of birth and death. But this year’s event raised a flutter as it took place during the second…
HOBART, Australia — After a year off because of coronavirus, Hobart’s Dark Mofo nude winter solstice swim has returned to a nippy River Derwent. Some 1500 people braved the 3C air temperature to strip off at 7.42 am on June 22 and mark the shortest day of the year. The water was a comparatively warm 12C. “This is the first time we’ve done it,” Brady, 31, who hails from Brisbane, said. “It was great to see how many people there were. When you get in, you just run screaming. You can’t really feel it until it’s too late. “The skin starts to sting.…
CANBERRA, Australia — Environment Minister Sussan Ley is digging in on net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 despite the new deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce‘s opposition. “Net-zero is not dead in the water,” she said in Canberra on June 22. “Net-zero will happen as soon as possible, and the prime minister has made that very clear.” She said the strength of the Liberal and National coalition was the ability for people to hold different views. Joyce has been sworn in as Scott Morrison’s deputy at Government House after ousting Michael McCormack as Nationals leader on June 21. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee blindsided the Morrison government with a…
BRISBANE, Australia — The Australian state of Queensland has recorded one new case of community transmission of Covid-19 linked to an infected flight attendant. A man aged in his 60s returned a positive result after visiting the Portuguese Family Center at Ellen Grove in Brisbane on June 19. He was there at the same time as a flight attendant who authorities believe contracted coronavirus while in hotel quarantine and tested positive after she was released. But Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young believes the risk stemming from this case is low. Young is the Queensland Chief Health Officer and one of the…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Federal resources minister Keith Pitt has folded a bill that would have locked South Australia’s Kimba community for a nuclear waste dump. The legislation passed on June 22 with Labor’s support after a specific site for a new facility was removed. The minister can now issue an “intention to declare” a preferred location. After a generation of resources ministers has tried to resolve the issue, Pitt claimed that the government would work on location in coming weeks. The process to identify a site for the facility started six years ago, with 28 sites nominated by landholders around Australia. But approvals and legal challenges,…
SYDNEY — The bill for New South Wales’ Covid-19 management has reached an Au$4 billion ($3 billion), with another Au$1.1 billion ($0.83 billion) set aside in the 2021/22 budget to continue the state’s virus suppression and vaccine rollout efforts. New South Wales Health received a total of Au$30.2 billion ($22.67 billion) in the budget of June 22, made up of Au$27.1 billion ($20.34 billion) in recurrent expenditure and Au$3.1 billion ($2.33 billion) in capital spending. The money is allocated to the construction or refurbishment of 18 metropolitan and 28 regional hospitals and health facilities, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said. Bradley Ronald…
SYDNEY — Detectives are hunting three men they believe are involved in the kidnapping of former Australian Test cricketer Stuart MacGill. Police have released CCTV footage of two men entering a Bunnings just hours before MacGill was abducted and assaulted on Sydney’s north shore at gunpoint by a group of men on the evening of April 14. Detective Superintendent Andrew Koutsoufis said the men bought items that police believe were used during the incident to “intimidate” MacGill. “We are very keen to identify and locate those two males,” he said on June 22. Noted Journalist Derryn Hinch tweeted “The Stuart McGill…