WASHINGTON: Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Friday that conditions were not yet right for ASEAN to open high-level talks with Myanmar on the country’s political situation.
“We believe it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level,” Balakrishnan said when asked about a news report that Thailand had proposed talks.
Speaking in a joint press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Balakrishnan said the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had recently reaffirmed their stance.
“We condemned the coup, and the ongoing violence against civilians, the instability in the country, the setback to national reconciliation, and the enormous impact on the economy,” he said of the 2021 military takeover in Myanmar.
“Unfortunately, it’s now more than two years. We haven’t seen any signs of improvement.”
Balakrishnan did not reject all engagement with the Myanmar junta.
“The key point is this. You do need everyone ultimately to sit down and negotiate,” he said.
“I don’t know how long it will take. The last time it took 25 years for some form of democratic transition to occur in Myanmar. I hope it won’t take that long.”
Blinken said the United States backs ASEAN efforts to resolve the crisis.
“It’s very important that we continue, all of us, to sustain the appropriate pressure on the junta and look for ways of course to engage the opposition” in Myanmar, he said.
Thailand has proposed to host an informal ministerial meeting of some ASEAN members with Myanmar on Sunday and Monday.
“It is time for ASEAN to fully re-engage Myanmar at the leaders’ level,” according to a Thai government letter, seen by AFP.
“In consideration of several pressing factors, the time for dialogues is sooner rather than later.”
A Myanmar junta spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal.
A Southeast Asian official familiar with the matter told AFP on condition of anonymity that Malaysia would not attend the proposed meeting.
But the Cambodian government said its foreign minister will attend the two-day informal discussions in Bangkok.
The meeting will focus on advancing ASEAN’s five-point peace plan agreed with Myanmar two years ago, Cambodia’s foreign ministry said.
ASEAN’s last summit, held in May, ended without any significant progress on that peace plan, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo warning that the bloc risks becoming irrelevant.
More than 6,000 civilians have been killed in Myanmar since the February 2021 coup, the Peace Research Institute of Oslo said in a report published Tuesday.
Singapore says ‘premature’ for ASEAN talks with Myanmar
https://arab.news/8j7zx
Singapore says ‘premature’ for ASEAN talks with Myanmar
- ‘Unfortunately, it’s now more than two years. We haven’t seen any signs of improvement’
- Thailand has proposed to host an informal ministerial meeting of some ASEAN members with Myanmar
UK’s UN envoy urges stronger protection for aid workers at UN Security Council meeting
- Barbara Woodward stressed the importance of maintaining momentum in ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of humanitarian workers
LONDON: UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward has called for urgent action to protect aid workers in conflict zones as she addressed a UN Security Council session on implementing Resolution 2730.
Speaking at the meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, Woodward stressed the importance of maintaining momentum in ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of humanitarian workers.
“I pay tribute to those on the frontline and extend my condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives,” she said.
Woodward highlighted the escalating risks faced by aid workers, citing figures from the Aid Worker Security Database that recorded 64 deaths, 36 injuries, and eight kidnappings in just the first three months of 2025. She noted that the majority of those affected were local or national aid workers.
“The most dangerous place to deliver humanitarian assistance is Gaza, with over 400 aid workers reportedly killed since the beginning of the conflict,” she said, adding that Sudan and South Sudan are also high-risk locations.
She expressed concern over the detention of aid workers by the Houthis in Yemen, calling for their immediate release, and stressed the need to protect those responding to the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Myanmar.
Marking the one-year anniversary of the attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza, in which seven aid workers, including three British citizens, were killed, Woodward renewed calls for the conclusion of the Military Advocate General’s review into the incident.
“We continue to call for the conclusion of the Military Advocate General’s consideration of the incident, including determining whether criminal proceedings should be initiated,” she said.
She also condemned the recent killing of eight medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, along with first responders and a UN aid worker in Gaza. “We call for a thorough and swift investigation with meaningful accountability for those responsible,” she said, urging Israel to support efforts to locate PRCS medic Asaad Al-Nasasra, who remains missing.
Woodward emphasized the need for all parties in conflict to comply with international humanitarian law, ensuring that humanitarian supplies, personnel, and aid workers are respected and protected. “States must investigate attacks on aid workers and hold perpetrators to account. Effective, trusted deconfliction mechanisms must be set up and used,” she said.
She also urged the strengthening of international commitments to aid worker protection, highlighting the UK’s participation in an Australian-led ministerial group working to develop a political declaration aimed at driving global action on the issue.
“The UK is proud to be part of the Australian-led Ministers Group to develop a political declaration to galvanize collective action to protect aid workers, and we encourage others to join,” she said.
Additionally, she called for greater support for humanitarian organizations, including local groups, whose work is hindered by inadequate funding and operational risks.
“Actors who play a fundamental role in aid worker safety face operational risks due to inadequate funding,” she said, pointing to the UK’s support for key security-focused groups such as the Aid Worker Security Database and the International NGO Safety Organization.
Woodward reaffirmed the UK’s unwavering commitment to ensuring aid workers can operate safely, saying: “The UK remains steadfast in our commitment to allowing aid workers to do their job in safety and preventing violence against aid workers from becoming the new normal.”
UK announces £1m fund to help track anti-Muslim hate crimes
- Money available to organizations that will monitor incidents of Islamophobic hate
- Religious hate crimes have risen to record levels since the Gaza war started
LONDON: The UK government on Wednesday announced £1 million in annual funding for a new service to monitor incidents of anti-Muslim hate and help victims.
The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund will help counter Islamophobia and ensure Muslim communities feel safe, the government said.
The announcement comes as Muslims in Britain face a record number of Islamophobic incidents this year, according to police figures.
Last month it emerged that the UK was withdrawing funding for the Islamophobia reporting service Tell Mama. A report in the Byline Times last year said the organization had heavily underreported anti-Muslim hate crimes.
The new fund will be open from next week to applications from a single organization or a group of organizations working together to deliver an accurate record of hate incidents across England.
“Putting an end to the shocking rise of targeted attacks against Muslims requires a thorough understanding of the nature and scale of the hatred our Muslim communities face,” Lord Khan, the faith minister said. “That’s why we’re taking a crucial step forward this week to open this fund, seek new ideas and solutions, and tackle this hatred head on.”
Religious hate crimes have risen sharply in the UK since the Gaza war started in October 2023.
Last year, almost two in five of all religious hate crimes in England and Wales targeted Muslims, police figures showed, a 13 percent increase on the previous year.
The recipient of the grant will monitor and report Islamophobic incidents, raise awareness of hate crime, encourage victims to report incidents, and facilitate support for victims.
Up to £650,000 will be available in the 2025/26 financial year, and up to £1 million in the following years, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
Earlier this year, the UK set up a working group to provide the government with a working definition of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia.
Tesla quarterly sales plunge as Musk backlash grows
- Tesla shares fell 2 percent in early trading on Wednesday
- They reversed course to trade up more than 5 percent after Politico reported that Musk was planning to step down
WASHINGTON: Tesla’s quarterly sales plunged 13 percent to the weakest in nearly three years, hurt by a backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s politics, rising global competition, and people waiting for a refresh to its highest-selling electric vehicle Model Y.
The stumbling sales indicate that the one-time leading brand is reeling from the fallout of the company delaying launches for years, and Musk’s foray into politics in the United States and Europe.
Tesla shares fell 2 percent in early trading on Wednesday. But they reversed course to trade up more than 5 percent after Politico reported that Musk was planning to step down from his role as an adviser to US President Donald Trump soon, as administration insiders increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability.
“Exactly what the stock needed,” said Stock Trader Network Chief Strategist Dennis Dick, who has a position in the stock, referring to the report. “Shareholders are hoping Musk will now have the time to focus on rebuilding the Tesla brand.”
Musk’s role in spearheading federal cost-cutting in the United States and support of far-right parties in Germany and other nations, have produced a sharp response across the world.
Protests have spiked, and Tesla cars and dealerships globally have become targets for vandalism. Some Tesla owners have been looking to disassociate themselves from Musk and data has shown many are trading in their vehicles.
On Tuesday, a left-leaning judge won a seat on the state of Wisconsin’s highest court even after Musk spent more than $20 million backing her opponent in the race that led to protests from residents declaring that democracy was “not for sale.”
Tesla posted weak sales in numerous European markets and in China, even as consumers continued to opt for EVs.
In the January-March period, the company globally recorded a bigger-than-expected drop in sales to 336,681 vehicles, down from 386,810 units a year ago.
The expectation was for a 3.7 percent drop to 372,410 vehicles delivered, according to an average estimate of 15 analysts from Visible Alpha — but in recent days analysts had braced for even worse figures, following Tesla’s first-ever annual sales decline in 2024.
“The brand crisis issues are clearly having a negative impact on Tesla ... there is no debate,” Tesla bull Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a note, adding the delivery numbers “were a disaster.”
The company has lost about 45 percent of its value since mid-December. That follows a record high after Trump’s election win when investors expected Musk’s close ties to the White House to ease regulatory pressure over its self-driving taxi program.
Y REFRESH
Last year, Musk forecast 20 percent to 30 percent sales growth in 2025, promising to launch an affordable vehicle in the first half of the year and banking on demand for its newest vehicle, the Cybertruck.
While little is known about the progress on rolling out the cheaper vehicle, demand for the pricey Cybertruck — with its polarizing design and quality concerns — has been weak.
Musk did not reiterate the growth forecast on the January earnings call, saying Tesla would return to growth this year.
Tesla began offering the refreshed Model Y SUV with a new look and updated features in China late February, and in the US and Europe last month. Investors are waiting to see if demand for that can counter competition from Chinese rivals including BYD.
Tesla said on Wednesday that retooling production lines for the refresh across all four of its factories led to the loss of several weeks of production during the quarter.
After enjoying a leading position among EV makers for years, Tesla is set to be unseated by BYD for the first time this year with a 15.7 percent market share, ahead of Tesla’s 15.3 percent, according to Counterpoint Research.
“I’m skeptical about demand for the new Model Y from a couple of perspectives, even though there’s still a fair amount of growth for electric vehicles, the market is slowing down,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Tesla investor Globalt Investments.
Tesla’s sales in key European markets fell again in March, with numbers dropping for a third straight month in France and Sweden.
Modi government tables bill to take over centuries-old waqf management from Indian Muslims
- India has one of the largest number of waqf assets in the world, valued at around $14.2bn
- Waqf tradition in India can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the 13th century
NEW DELHI: The Indian government tabled on Wednesday a bill in parliament aimed at making sweeping changes to the decades-old Waqf Act, which governs vast tracts of properties run and managed by Muslims in the country.
With over 200 million Indians professing Islam, Hindu-majority India has the world’s largest Muslim-minority population.
The country has one of the largest numbers of waqf assets in the world, including over 870,000 properties spanning more than 900,000 hectares, with an estimated value of about $14.2 billion. Domestically, only the military and railways control more land.
In Islamic tradition, a waqf is a charitable or religious donation made by Muslims for the benefit of the community. Properties categorized as waqf, which typically involve mosques, schools, orphanages or hospitals, cannot be sold or used for other purposes.
In India, where the tradition of waqf can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the early 13th century, such properties are currently managed by about 30 government-established waqf boards, whose members are all Muslims.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, proposes more than 40 changes to the 1995 Waqf Act aimed at shifting the management of waqf properties from the boards to state governments, including the inclusion of non-Muslim members.
“The government is not interfering in any religious practice or institution. There is no provision in this to interfere in the management of any mosque. This is simply an issue of management of a property,” Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who tabled the bill, said during a parliament session on Wednesday.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which works to safeguard Islamic law in the country, said the bill could weaken waqf properties and their management.
“I think this bill has been brought with an intention to destroy the waqf board, not to improve it. The new law is very weak and aimed at attacking waqf properties,” board member Malik Mohtasim Khan told Arab News.
“They want to make a waqf law which is free from the influence of Muslims. I feel that their main aim is to make Muslims a second-class citizen.”
Indian Muslims have faced increasing discrimination and challenges in the past decade, accompanied by tensions and riots ignited by majoritarian policies of the Hindu right-wing BJP since it rose to power in 2014.
“They want to weaken Muslims’ rights in India,” Khan said. “The existing government has created such an atmosphere that there is no respect for parliamentary values and judicial values are also getting diluted. Today the Muslim community is being pushed to the margins. This is a lived reality.”
The bill’s fate will be decided with a vote by the ruling alliance and opposition lawmakers in the lower house, before it moves to the upper house for another debate and voting. If approved by both houses of parliament, it will be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent before becoming law.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a New Delhi-based author and political analyst who has focused on Hindu nationalist politics, described the bill as an “unfortunate development,” referring to the way it was prepared without proper consultations with Indian Muslims.
“I’m deeply disturbed by the manner in which this government is going about enacting the waqf bill in complete disregard of the sentiment of the Muslim community and their representatives,” he told Arab News.
“The only message which this government is repeatedly making — because that is the only thing which is going to continue to keep its electoral support — is that ‘we are tightening the screws on the Muslims; we are forcing them to act as the majority community wants.’”
Hungary must arrest Netanyahu during visit, HRW says
- Israeli leader expected to travel to country today at invitation of PM Viktor Orban
- Netanyahu is subject of an ICC arrest warrant relating to war crimes in Gaza
LONDON: Hungary must deny entry to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or arrest him during his planned visit to the country today, Human Rights Watch has said.
The appeal came a day after Amnesty International urged Hungary to arrest the Israeli leader, the subject of an International Criminal Court warrant.
Netanyahu is traveling to the EU country at the invitation of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister.
The ICC’s warrant for his arrest, which was issued on Nov. 21 last year, relates to allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip, including starving civilians, murder and persecution.
HRW has documented a litany of abuses and war crimes carried out by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Liz Evenson, the organization’s international justice director, said: “Orban’s invitation to Netanyahu is an affront to victims of serious crimes.
“Hungary should comply with its legal obligations as a party to the ICC and arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country.”
The EU state is a member country of the ICC, and therefore obligated to secure the arrest of any suspects on its territory.
The ICC lacks a police force or enforcement protocol, and relies on member states to enact its mandate.
Several EU member states have said they will refuse to enforce the arrest warrant against Netanyahu, in what HRW described as “regrettable” decisions.
These include France, Poland, Italy and Germany.
All ICC members must uphold their obligations to the court’s treaty, the Rome Statute, HRW said, urging the EU’s leadership to call on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu.
When the Israeli leader’s arrest warrant was issued, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto described the decision as “shameful, absurd and unacceptable.”
The country also announced a “review” of its relations with the ICC following US President Donald Trump’s decision to authorize the use of sanctions against the court’s officials in the wake of the Netanyahu warrant.
Evenson said: “Allowing Netanyahu’s visit in breach of Hungary’s ICC obligations would be Orban’s latest assault on the rule of law, adding to the country’s dismal record on rights.
“All ICC member countries need to make clear they expect Hungary to abide by its obligations to the court, and that they will do the same.”
