US woman among 18 NGO staff detained in Afghanistan

US woman among 18 NGO staff detained in Afghanistan
Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have arrested at least 18 staff of an international NGO, including an American woman, accusing them of carrying out Christian missionary work, the country's leaders said Saturday. (AP/File)
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Updated 16 September 2023
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US woman among 18 NGO staff detained in Afghanistan

US woman among 18 NGO staff detained in Afghanistan
  • The International Assistance Mission (IAM) confirmed its staffers were picked up from its office in Ghor province
  • Security and intelligence forces had been observing the group for some time

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have arrested at least 18 staff of an international NGO, including an American woman, accusing them of carrying out Christian missionary work, the country’s leaders said Saturday.
The International Assistance Mission (IAM) confirmed its staffers were picked up from its office in Ghor province, central Afghanistan, and taken to the capital Kabul.
Security and intelligence forces had been observing the group for some time, Abdul Wahid Hamas Ghori, a government spokesman for the province, told AFP.
“Documents and audios were obtained that showed they were inviting people to join Christianity,” he said, without providing further details.
He said 21 people were arrested, including an American woman.
IAM said in a statement earlier that 18 people, including a “foreigner,” were being held and that it had no information about the nature of the allegations.
The American woman and two Afghan staff were the first to be detained on September 3, followed by 15 more Afghan employees on Wednesday.
“Should any charges be lodged against our organization or any individual staff member, we will independently review any evidence presented,” it added.
IAM’s website says the organization is founded on Christian values, but that it does not provide aid according to political or religious belief.
“We value and respect local customs and cultures,” the Swiss-registered group said in a statement on Saturday.
IAM has operated in Afghanistan since 1966 — through previous royal, communist and Taliban governments — when it specialized in eye care, later branching out into other areas of health and education.
In 2010, 10 IAM medics, including eight foreigners, were shot dead in an attack in remote northern Afghanistan.
At the time, competing theories emerged over the motive for the attack, with police saying it was likely a robbery.
However, two militant groups claimed responsibility, including Taliban leaders who said the medics were Christian missionaries and accused them of working as military spies.
Dozens of foreigners — including several Westerners — have been detained by the Taliban authorities since the group’s return to power in August 2021.
The Taliban rulers have imposed sweeping restrictions on the population they say are in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law — including barring women from working for NGOs and the United Nations.
Teenage girls and women are also banned from schools and universities, and excluded from many other formers of public social life.


Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus

Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus
Updated 8 sec ago
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Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus

Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus
  • Rohingya escape escalating brutality in the camps in and around Cox’s Bazar
  • Bangladesh defense ministry identifies at least 11 armed groups operating in the camps
LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia: Holding his son’s hand in a temporary shelter in Indonesia, Rohingya Mohamed Ridoi says he made the dangerous 12-day sea journey from massive refugee camps in Bangladesh to escape the pervasive threats of kidnapping, extortion and murder.
The 27-year-old said he was starting a “peaceful life” in a temporary shelter in Indonesia’s western Aceh Province, where more than 1,000 Rohingya people have arrived this month, the largest such influx since 2015.
He and others said they fled escalating brutality in the camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, which hold more than one million people and where gangs regularly abduct and torture residents for ransom.
“One of the groups kidnapped me and demanded 500,000 Bangladeshi taka ($4,551) to buy their guns,” Ridoi, who left with his wife, two children and his brother, said.
“They told me that if I couldn’t give them the money, they would kill me.”
He said he eventually paid 300,000 taka for his release last month and, within weeks, he was on a boat to Indonesia, arriving on November 21.
“We are not safe in Bangladesh. That is why I decided to go to Indonesia to save me and my family’s life,” he said.
Having first fled state-backed persecution in Myanmar — including a 2017 crackdown that is subject to a UN genocide probe — the refugees now find themselves pushed to undertake weeks-long journeys of more than 1,800 kilometers on packed, rickety boats.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and says it is not compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar, but neighboring countries have shut their doors, meaning they have almost no other options.
More than half a dozen boats have arrived in Aceh since November 14, and monitors say more are on their way, despite some locals turning arriving boats back to sea and stepping up patrols on the coast.
Human Rights Watch reported this year that criminal gangs and alleged affiliates of Islamist armed groups were causing fear at night in the Bangladesh refugee camps, which now number more than two dozen.
The Bangladesh defense ministry has identified at least 11 armed groups operating in the camps, but rights groups say Dhaka is not doing enough to protect refugees from the violence.
These gangs, vying for control and involved in activities like drug smuggling and human trafficking, have specifically targeted Rohingya community leaders and activists.
Aisha, 19, arrived in Aceh on the same boat as Ridoi with two children and her husband.
“They asked for money every night, threatening to abduct my husband. I couldn’t sleep at night because of them,” she said via an interpreter.
Bangladesh police say about 60 Rohingya people have been killed in violence in the camps this year.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of HRW, said it appeared the Bangladeshi government “doesn’t care” about the refugees’ fate.
“The bottom line is the Bangladesh government just wants all the Rohingya to go back to Myanmar as soon as possible — even if (it) means subjecting the refugees to conditions of absolute misery in the camps so that they leave.”
Aisha, the young mother, said fear of the criminals pushed her family to pay 200,000 taka ($1,819) to illegal middlemen for her family’s boat journey to Indonesia, despite the risks.
Aisha said she preferred to “die at sea than in the camp.”
“I looked for a safe place for my children, hoping they could study and get an education,” she said.
Chris Lewa, director of Rohingya rights organization the Arakan Project, said food shortages were also worsening camp conditions and entire families were now leaving, instead of just groups of young men as seen previously.
“Now, the profile is different, now we have many families. Before there was not many,” she said.
“Nowadays we see small children, there are many families making their way. They just want to be away from Bangladesh.”
Aisha and her children now share a windowless room in a shelter in the Aceh city of Lhokseumawe with more than a hundred other women and minors, sleeping on mats on the floor without a fan in the tropical heat.
Aisha said that it was still much better than living in fear in the Bangladesh camp.
Ridoi also hoped that his decision to bring his family to Indonesia would bring a better life for his sons.
“I am not qualified to be a doctor or engineer, but I am doing my best to make them one,” he said.
“My children are everything to me.”

Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 

Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 
Updated 29 November 2023
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Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 

Kashmiri students arrested for celebrating India’s Cricket World Cup defeat 
  • Seven students were detained last week after a student filed complaint accusing them of raising anti-India slogans and cheering for Pakista
  • Police said they were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after they found video evidence of them raising anti-India chants

SRINAGAR, India: Indian police arrested seven students in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) region under anti-terror laws for allegedly celebrating Australia’s victory over India in the men’s Cricket World Cup final earlier this month, police said on Tuesday. 

A senior police official said seven students from an agriculture university were detained last week after a student filed a complaint accusing them of raising anti-India slogans and cheering for Pakistan along with Australia after the match. 

Claimed in full but ruled in part by India and Pakistan, Muslim-majority Kashmir has seen a bloody insurrection against New Delhi for decades, with militants fighting security forces since the 1990s. 

Tens of thousands of people have been killed although the violence has been reduced in recent years. 

India blames Pakistan for supporting the Muslim insurgents. Pakistan denies this and accuses India of violating the rights of Kashmir’s Muslim people, a charge India rejects. 

Police said the seven students were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) after they found video evidence of them raising anti-India chants. UAPA deals with inciting or advising any unlawful activity and is punishable with seven years’ imprisonment. 

Family members and lawyers of the accused were not immediately available for comment. 

Political leaders from local parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s rule over J&K said the arrests were a method to intimidate locals. A local policeman said however the chants “terrorized” those who are pro-India. 

Muslims in J&K have in the past cheered for the competing side in India cricket matches as a way of protesting Indian rule. 

“It is shocking that cheering for a winning team too has been criminalized in Kashmir,” said the region’s former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. 

Australia had entered the World Cup match as clear underdogs against an all-conquering India side, who had won 10 matches in a row to storm into the final. But India was defeated in the final match on Nov. 19. 


Thailand welcomes release of two more Thai hostages held by Hamas

Thailand welcomes release of two more Thai hostages held by Hamas
Updated 29 November 2023
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Thailand welcomes release of two more Thai hostages held by Hamas

Thailand welcomes release of two more Thai hostages held by Hamas
  • Before the Israel-Hamas war, about 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, comprising one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country

BANGKOK: Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara welcomed on Wednesday the release of two more Thai hostages who had been held by Hamas in Gaza, the latest to be freed under a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.
“Happy to personally welcome 2 additional Thai hostages just released and arrived at the hospital in Tel Aviv,” Parnpree, who is also deputy prime minister, posted on social media platform X.
“A totally warm feeling to see how the former 17 were lining up to welcome and give moral support to the two newcomers,” he said.
Nineteen Thai hostages have so far been released, while the foreign ministry says 13 more remain in captivity. There were 39 Thai nationals killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
A Thai Muslim group that spoke directly with Hamas said on Monday its efforts were key to ensuring Thai hostages were among the first to be released. A Thai foreign ministry spokesperson said multiple actors were consulted.
Before the Israel-Hamas war, about 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, comprising one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country.
Nearly 9,000 have been repatriated, according to the government.
The Thai citizens released are slated to return home this week as Parnpree visits Israel.

 

 


Draft bill seeks ‘loyalty agreement’ from foreigners entering Russia

Draft bill seeks ‘loyalty agreement’ from foreigners entering Russia
Updated 29 November 2023
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Draft bill seeks ‘loyalty agreement’ from foreigners entering Russia

Draft bill seeks ‘loyalty agreement’ from foreigners entering Russia
  • Since its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has imposed a number of restrictions on foreigners from what it calls “unfriendly countries”

Russia’s Internal Affairs ministry is preparing a bill that would oblige foreigners entering the country to sign a “loyalty agreement” that would bar them from discrediting official policies, the TASS state news agency reported early on Wednesday.
The agreement would be aimed at protecting Russia’s “national interests,” TASS reported, citing the document.
A foreigner entering Russia would be prohibited from “interfering with the activities of public authorities of the Russian Federation, discrediting in any form the foreign and domestic state policy of the Russian Federation, public authorities and their officials.”
Reuters could not independently verify the draft bill. The Internal Affairs ministry did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.
Since its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has imposed a number of restrictions on foreigners from what it calls “unfriendly countries” — meaning those that have imposed sanctions on it over its war in Ukraine.
The internal affairs draft bill provides that foreigners would be prohibited from disparaging or inciting the denial of “significant moral” values, such as marriage as a union of a man and a woman, family, as well as from disseminating propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships.
Distortion of the “historical truth” about the Soviet people’s defense of the country and its contribution to the victory over fascist Germany in World War Two would also be prohibited, TASS reported.
TASS did not specify what repercussions foreigners would face if they broke the agreement.
For the draft to become law, the document has to be introduced to the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, and go through committee review and several readings before being submitted to President Vladimir Putin for signing.


G7 calls on Houthis to stop threats to shipping

G7 calls on Houthis to stop threats to shipping
Updated 29 November 2023
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G7 calls on Houthis to stop threats to shipping

G7 calls on Houthis to stop threats to shipping
  • Gaza’s Hamas government says that almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory ground and air operation

TOKYO: G7 foreign ministers called Wednesday on Iran-backed Houthi rebels to cease threats to international shipping and to release a vessel they seized earlier this month.
“Emphasizing the importance of maritime security, we call on all parties not to threaten or interfere with lawful exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by all vessels,” a statement released by G7 chair Japan read.
“We especially call on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks on civilians and threats to international shipping lanes and commercial vessels and release the M/V Galaxy Leader and its crew, illegally seized from international waters on November 19,” it added.
The Houthis have launched a series of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel since Hamas militants poured over the border into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240.
Gaza’s Hamas government says that almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory ground and air operation.
On November 17, Houthis seized Israeli-linked cargo vessel the Galaxy Leader and its 25 international crew at the entrance to the Red Sea.
On Sunday, two ballistic missiles were launched from an area controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen, landing around 10 nautical miles from US destroyer the USS Mason, according to the Pentagon.
The USS Mason and other allied ships were responding to the boarding of a tanker ship off the Yemeni port city of Aden by five armed people — believed to be Somalis — who fled in a small boat and were detained, the Pentagon said.