WASHINGTON — Anthony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, took part in the Friends of the Mekong ministerial meeting. In the meeting, he called upon the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members to hold the military regime in Myanmar accountable quickly to the association’s five-point consensus. “I welcomed the selection of Bruneian Second Foreign Minister Erywan as Association of Southeast Asian Nations Special Envoy to Myanmar and urged the Special Envoy and Association of Southeast Asian Nations members to act quickly to hold the military accountable to the Five-Point Consensus and to engage all parties, including pro-democracy leaders,” Blinken said in a statement. “Association of…
Author: zenger.news
NEW DELHI — A furious mob attacked a Hindu temple in Bhong city in Rahim Yar Khan district of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires has been summoned by India, who has lodged a strong protest in a recent series of events that saw an attack on the Hindu temple in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack on a Hindu temple in the country’s Punjab province and assured that action would be taken against the culprits. “Strongly condemn attack on Ganesh Mandir in Bhung, RYK yesterday,” tweeted Khan. “I have already asked IG Punjab to ensure the arrest of all…
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — In terms of enforced disappearances, Sri Lanka is ranked second globally as tens of thousands of people have “forcibly disappeared” over many decades, as per Amnesty International. After Sri Lanka’s Attorney General’s Department decided not to proceed with charges against former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, these observations by Amnesty International were put forward. He has allegations against his name over his role in the abduction of 11 Tamil youth in 2008 and 2009. The Sri Lankan Navy is alleged to have been behind the forcible disappearance of the “Navy 11”. “Sri Lanka has the world’s second-highest number of enforced…
A coal-fired power station in southern Turkey was evacuated, along with a nearby town on the Aegean Sea after they were threatened by wildfires raging across the region. Fire near the Kemerköy Thermal Power Plant in the province of Muğla was finally extinguished on Thursday after a lengthy battle. The fire broke out in Milas at the end of July. Fire engines and water tankers were positioned around the plant to protect it. Despite the threat of strong, unpredictable winds, the fire did not reach the main buildings of the plant. Kemerköy personnel were evacuated in the evening. Flammable materials…
Lithuanian authorities suspect Belarus of intentionally helping migrants, mostly from Iraq, cross into the European Union. Border footage was filmed from a helicopter by members of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on Aug. 1. It allegedly shows Belarusian border guards escorting illegal immigrants across the border into EU member Lithuania in retaliation against recent sanctions. A Frontex spokesperson said the truck in the recent video seen escorting the migrants across the border is commonly used by Belarusian border guards. According to reports, around 180 migrants, mostly Iraqis, were sent back to Belarus on Aug. 3 on orders…
BUSUNU, Ghana — The viral video shows a group of young people from Busunu, Damongo Constituency, Savannah Region of northern Ghana reloading bags of rice onto three pickup trucks while shouting, “we need jobs, not rice”, on July 18. It was two days to the Muslim festival of Eid-al Adha or the “Feast of Sacrifice”. Per custom, the area member of parliament, Samuel Abu Jinapor, donated food to his constituents to celebrate the holiday. The bags of rice were for chiefs, imams, clan heads, and traditional female leaders known as queen mothers for distribution to members of the community in Busunu. The food was headed…
KAMPALA, Uganda — Siraje Bukenya, a councilor in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, was among the first to receive the opening jab of the Covid-19 vaccine when the government started mass vaccination on March 10, 2021. However, he now fears going for the second dose after investigations revealed that at least 800 people in the country got injected with fake Covid-19 vaccines. “I was thrilled and felt protected after I got vaccinated, but now I’m quite frightened,” he told Zenger News. “If our government doesn’t tackle this issue firmly, people will fear getting vaccinated. How can health workers inject people with fake vaccines?…
Marine protected areas sound like safe havens for the fish living in them, but a new study from Tel Aviv University shows that’s only the case for those lucky enough to reside in the center of them, not around their edges. The study, conducted by doctoral student Sarah Ohayon and recently published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, shows that overfishing at the borders of marine protected areas (MPAs) leads to a sharp reduction in the fish population on their edges, diminishing the whole area’s effectiveness. This “edge effect” can reach up to 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) within the MPA. It…
A product of vegetable oil, renewable diesel fuel production in the U.S. is set to grow as fast as Iowa corn. But behind the strong growth projection for the biofuel is a brewing fight between everyone from bakers to oil refiners to farmers, as lawmakers and regulators consider how to integrate biofuels like biodiesel and ethanol into the drive to slash emissions from fossil fuels. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released data on July 29 that forecasts huge increases in production capacity for U.S. renewable diesel production, with several production projects currently under construction and more on the drawing board.…
A steampunk sculpture sparked a major bomb scare at Germany’s biggest airport, after authorities mistook a detail on an artwork for a bomb. The incident began when employees at the Frankfurt am Main Airport spotted what they thought was a hand grenade in an American’s suitcase. It turned out the grenade was a fake, used as a detail on the sculpture. The artwork was found during X-ray cabin security checks for a flight scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., at about 5:15 p.m. on Aug. 3. The suitcase in question belonged to a 56-year-old American, whose identity was not disclosed,…