Sri Lanka president’s office to reopen after crackdown

Sri Lanka president’s office to reopen after crackdown
International human rights groups condemned the government for using violence against unarmed protesters who had announced their intention to vacate the site. (AFP)
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Updated 24 July 2022

Sri Lanka president’s office to reopen after crackdown

Sri Lanka president’s office to reopen after crackdown
  • Protestors occupied the colonial-era building earlier this month in demonstrations against the nation’s economic crisis

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s besieged presidential office will reopen on Monday, police said, days after anti-government demonstrators were flushed out in a military crackdown that triggered international condemnation.
The colonial-era building was occupied earlier this month by protesters angered by the island nation’s unprecedented economic crisis.
Soldiers rescued then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from his nearby residence before it was overrun by an angry crowd the same day, with the leader eventually fleeing to Singapore and resigning.
Troops armed with batons and automatic weapons cleared the presidential secretariat shortly after midnight Friday on the orders of Rajapaksa’s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe.
At least 48 people were wounded and nine arrested in the operation, during which security forces tore down tents set up by protesters outside the complex earlier this year.
“The office is ready for reopening from Monday,” a police official told AFP on Sunday, adding that forensics experts had visited the office to gather evidence of damage by protesters.
“The siege of the secretariat, which lasted since May 9, has now been lifted.”
Western governments, the United Nations and human rights groups have condemned Wickremesinghe for using violence against unarmed protesters who had announced their intention to vacate the site later on Friday.
Police spokesman Nihal Talduwa said protesters were free to continue their demonstrations at a designated site near the presidential office.
“They can remain at the official protest site. The government may even open a few more places for demonstrators in the city,” Talduwa said Sunday.
The military operation to clear the secretariat building and its immediate surroundings came less than 24 hours after Wickremesinghe was sworn in and just before a new cabinet was appointed.
Wickremesinghe was elected by legislators on Wednesday to replace Rajapaksa, who fled to Singapore and resigned after demonstrators chased him from his palace.


Pakistani pilgrims laud Hajj arrangements

Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government. (SPA)
Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government. (SPA)
Updated 28 May 2023

Pakistani pilgrims laud Hajj arrangements

Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government. (SPA)
  • Saudi authorities reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims in January and scrapped the upper age limit of 65

ISLAMABAD: With Hajj flight operation to Saudi Arabia in full swing, Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government, saying their experience has so far been “better than expected.”

Saudi authorities reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims in January and scrapped the upper age limit of 65.

About 80,000 pilgrims are scheduled to perform Hajj under the government scheme in the ongoing year while the rest will be facilitated by private tour operators.

The first group of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims arrived in Madinah on May 22, while the last flight will depart from Pakistan on June 20.

According to Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Ministry, these pilgrims will depart for Makkah after spending eight days in Madinah.

“The arrangements made for us here by the Pakistani government are better than expected,” Mohammed Farrukh, a pilgrim from southern Karachi city, said in a video interview circulated by the ministry.

“(The ministry officials) have addressed all our concerns. For instance, we were worried about purchasing sacrificial animals for Hajj. But the government returned our money so we could buy the animal of our choice.”

Another pilgrim from Peshawar, Naveed Durrani, said he boarded the Hajj flight from Islamabad.

“The hotel (booked for us) is right opposite the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, which is very convenient for us,” he added.

While most pilgrims maintained they had not faced any problem in the Kingdom, they said patience was still the key to a pleasant experience.

“I am here for Hajj for the first time and this experience has been very good,” said Zara, a pilgrim from Lahore who only revealed her first name.

“Even if we complain about small issues, they are immediately addressed,” she added. “But we should remember that Hajj teaches us patience and how to be a good human, which is the key to a good experience.”


UK launches ad drive to deter Albanian migrants

The scheme is the latest attempt by UK authorities to control the number of migrants making the journey across the Channel.
The scheme is the latest attempt by UK authorities to control the number of migrants making the journey across the Channel.
Updated 28 May 2023

UK launches ad drive to deter Albanian migrants

The scheme is the latest attempt by UK authorities to control the number of migrants making the journey across the Channel.
  • They ‘face being detained and removed’ if they reach Britain illegally, adverts warn
  • Charity CEO: Campaign ‘repeats myth that refugee migration is illegal’

LONDON: The UK Home Office is launching an advertising campaign to discourage Albanian migrants from traveling to Britain illegally via small boats.

The scheme, which will use Facebook and Instagram, is the latest attempt by British authorities to control the number of migrants making the dangerous journey across the English Channel. Albanians “face being detained and removed” if they reach Britain illegally, the adverts warn.

So far this year, more than 6,000 migrants have crossed from mainland Europe into Britain using small vessels.

The Home Office did not release information about the advertising campaign’s cost, but said it would “make clear the perils” that migrants could face in making the journey.

It described Albania as a “safe and prosperous country,” adding that migrants are making “spurious asylum claims” following their arrival in the UK.

But the campaign, which will launch next week, has been criticized by migrant advocacy groups and the main opposition Labour Party.

Refugee Action CEO Tim Naor Hilton said the advertising is “pointless” and “repeats the myth that refugee migration is illegal.

He added: “If the government wanted to smash the smuggling gangs and stop people crossing the Channel in flimsy boats, it would create more safe routes for refugees to travel here to claim asylum.”

The new campaign follows a similar scheme launched last August by the Home Office, which also used social media to deter Albanian would-be asylum seekers.

Albanians were the top asylum claimants in the UK from January to March this year, with 13,714 people from the Balkan country filing applications.

Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith warned that the new advertising campaign would fail to meet its objectives.

“No amount of taxpayer-funded PR spin will deter refugees, who have experienced some of the worst things imaginable from war and conflict to torture and human rights abuses, from seeking a safe future,” he said.

“The only solution that will put people smugglers out of business, stop small boat crossings and save lives is to offer safe passage to refugees with a viable asylum claim in the UK.”

The campaign follows the launch of the government’s proposed Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to deport asylum seekers who arrive in the UK illegally to their countries of origin or Rwanda.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “We are determined to stop the boats and the campaign, launching in Albania this week, is just one component of the Home Office’s work upstream to help dispel myths about illegal travel to the UK, explain the realities and combat the lies peddled by evil people smugglers who profit from this vile trade.”


US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia

US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia
Updated 28 May 2023

US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia

US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia
  • Al-Shabab militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base, prompting a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP

WASHINGTON: The United States conducted an airstrike that destroyed stolen Al-Shabab weapons and equipment in Somalia near an African Union military base that was attacked by the group, officials reported Saturday.
The base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, was housing Ugandan troops when it was raided Friday in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group.
In a statement, US Africa Command said that it “destroyed weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by Al-Shabab fighters,” without specifying when or where the weapons were stolen.
“US Africa Command conducted an airstrike against militants in the vicinity” of Bulo Marer on Friday, in support of the Somali federal government and the AU force known as ATMIS, it said.
Al-Shabab militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base, prompting a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP.
It was not immediately known if there were any casualties from the Al-Shabab attack.
US Africa Command said its “initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed” in its operation.
Pro-government forces backed by ATMIS forces launched an offensive last August against Al-Shabab, which has been waging an insurgency in the fragile Horn of Africa nation for more than 15 years.
The 20,000-strong ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor known as AMISOM.
The force is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia.
Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia’s army and police by 2024.

 


Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day

Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day
Updated 28 May 2023

Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day

Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day
  • Air defense systems downed at least 20 drones moving toward Kyiv

KYIV: Russia unleashed multiple waves of air strikes on Kyiv overnight in what officials said appeared to be the largest drone attack on the city since the start of the war, as the Ukrainian capital prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding on Sunday.
In what also appeared to be the first deadly attack on Kyiv in May and the 14th assault since the start of the month, officials said air defense systems downed at least 40 drones moving toward Kyiv with falling debris killing one person.
The pre-dawn attacks came on the last Sunday of May when the capital celebrates Kyiv Day, the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago. The day is typically marked by street fairs, live concerts and special museum exhibitions — plans for which have been made this year too, but on a smaller scale.
“The history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians,” Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said on his Telegram channel.
Preliminary information indicated the air raid was the largest drone attack on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration said. Russia used the Iranian-made Shahed drones in the attack, he added.
Reuters was not able to independently verify that information.
“Today, the enemy decided to ‘congratulate’ the people of Kyiv on Kyiv Day with the help of their deadly UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles),” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app.
“The attack was carried out in several waves, and the air alert lasted more than five hours.”
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the victim was a 41-year-old. The military administration said at least two people were injured.
Several districts of Kyiv, by far the largest Ukrainian city with a population of around 3 million, suffered in the overnight attacks, officials said, including the historical Pecherskyi neighborhood.
Reuters witnesses said that during the air raid alerts that started soon after midnight, many people stood on their balconies, some screaming offensives directed at Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and “Glory to air defense” slogans.
With a Ukrainian counteroffensive looming 15 months into the war, Moscow has intensified missile and drone strikes after a lull of nearly two months, targeting military facilities and supplies. Waves of attacks now come several times a week.
In the leafy Holosiivskyi district in the southwestern part of Kyiv, falling debris set a three-story warehouse on fire, destroying about 1,000 square meters (10,800 square feet) of building structures, Mayor Klitschko said.
A fire broke out after falling drone debris hit a seven-story non-residential building in the Solomyanskyi district west of the city. The district is a busy rail and air transport hub.
In the Pecherskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of a nine-story building due to falling drone debris, and in the Darnytskyi district a shop was damaged, Kyiv’s military administration officials said on Telegram.

 


NATO urges Kosovo to de-escalate tension with Serbia

NATO urges Kosovo to de-escalate tension with Serbia
Updated 28 May 2023

NATO urges Kosovo to de-escalate tension with Serbia

NATO urges Kosovo to de-escalate tension with Serbia
  • Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti defended police actions in escorting the new mayors the previous day

BRUSSELS: NATO on Saturday urged Kosovo to dial down tensions with Serbia, a day after its government forcibly accessed municipal buildings to install mayors in ethnic Serb areas in the north of the country.
The resulting clashes on Friday between Kosovan police and protesters opposed to the ethnic Albanian mayors prompted Serbia to put its army on full combat alert and to move units closer to the border.
“We urge the institutions in Kosovo to de-escalate immediately and call on all parties to resolve the situation through dialogue,” said Oana Lungescu, a spokeswoman for the transatlantic military alliance, in a Twitter post.
She said KFOR, the 3,800-strong NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, would remain vigilant.
Things were still tense in the north part of the country where heavily armed police forces in armored vehicles were guarding municipality buildings.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti defended police actions in escorting the new mayors the previous day.
“It is the right of those elected in democratic elections to assume office without threats or intimidation. It is also the right of citizens to be served by those elected officials,” Kurti said on Twitter on Saturday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday criticized Kurti’s government for its actions in the north, saying they “unnecessarily escalated tensions, (were) undermining our efforts to help normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia and will have consequences for our bilateral relations with Kosovo.”
Almost a decade after the end of a war there, Serbs in Kosovo’s northern region do not accept Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia and still see Belgrade as their capital.
Ethnic Albanians form more than 90 percent of the population in Kosovo, with Serbs only the majority in the northern region.