WAHSINGTON: The United States said Friday it would keep denying visas to Chinese officials over human rights concerns in Xinjiang, Tibet and elsewhere, vowing accountability despite a thaw in tensions between the powers.
Unlike previous high-profile actions against Chinese officials, the State Department did not identify or give a number of those who would be denied visas or specify if additional people were being blacklisted.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that United States was restricting visas to current or former officials “for their involvement in repression of marginalized religious and ethnic communities.”
Beijing “has not lived up to its commitments to respect and protect human rights, as demonstrated by the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, the erosion of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, persistent human rights abuses in Tibet and transnational repression around the world,” he said in a statement.
He called on China to accept recommendations in the latest UN review of its rights record, including releasing citizens “it has arbitrarily and unjustly detained.”
Under previous president Donald Trump, the United States publicly named several officials who would be denied entry including Chen Quanguo, the architect of China’s hard-line policies in Tibet and then Xinjiang who has since retired.
Under President Joe Biden, the United States has kept up pressure on China, including by expanding restrictions on technology exports, but has also pursued dialogue to keep tensions in check.
The United States says that China is carrying out genocide against the mostly Muslim Uyghur people in Xinjiang, pointing to accounts of vast detention camps, allegations strongly rejected by Beijing.
US keeps barring Chinese officials over rights
https://arab.news/256d9
US keeps barring Chinese officials over rights
- The State Department didn’t identify or give a number of those who would be denied visas
- The US has kept up pressure on China, including by expanding restrictions on technology exports
Malaysia summons Meta over removed PM posts about Hamas leader
- Anwar’s posts included a video showing the premier on a phone call with a Hamas official, offering his condolences
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office said his posts on Facebook and Instagram about Ismail Haniyeh’s death had been removed last week by parent company Meta.
The political leader of Palestinian armed group Hamas was killed in Tehran on Wednesday, in an attack blamed on Israel, which has not directly commented on it.
Anwar’s posts included a video showing the premier on a phone call with a Hamas official, offering his condolences.
On Instagram, there was a note by Meta, shared by Anwar, that the posts were taken down because of association with “dangerous individuals and organizations.”
Israel, the United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
In a statement on Monday, the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said it “views Meta’s actions as discriminatory, unjust, and a blatant suppression of free expression.”
“It is also seen as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people in their pursuit of justice and human rights.”
The PMO said it was demanding a public apology and a detailed explanation from Meta.
Anwar accused the tech giant of “cowardice” last week for removing his posts.
Malaysian authorities have previously chided Meta for removing posts as well as for not taking down what officials deemed as harmful content fast enough.
Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
Last year, Human Rights Watch said “Meta’s policies and practices were silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights on Instagram and Facebook.”
Anwar, who met Haniyeh in Qatar in May, has defended Malaysia’s ties with the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group, which launched a deadly attack against Israel on October 7 that triggered the war in Gaza.
Anwar stressed during a visit to Germany in March that Malaysia’s links were with Hamas’s political wing and not with its military arm.
Russian space agency says break with West cost $2.1 bn
MOSCOW: Russia’s space agency on Monday said the break with the West following Russia’s offensive in Ukraine had cost it nearly 180 billion rubles ($2.1 billion).
As part of sanctions against Moscow following the start of Russia’s campaign, Western countries broke off partnerships with Roscosmos in the space sector.
“The termination of contracts by unfriendly countries cost Roscosmos 180 billion rubles,” Andrei Yelchaninov, deputy head of the Roscosmos agency, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
One of the collaborations what was halted was the cooperation on a planned joint mission to explore Mars with the European Space Agency.
Roscosmos also suspended launches of its Soyuz rockets from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
Yelchaninov said the agency planned to make up for the lost revenues by doing more business with countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
“As for the returning to the volume of exports we had before sanctions, we are setting this target,” he said.
“But this is a long-term project, since competition is strong on all these new markets. But if we penetrate the markets correctly, the prospects are very good.”
Russia’s space sector has struggled with financing problems, corruption scandals and setbacks such as the loss of the Luna-25 lunar module in August 2023.
'We won’t be intimidated’: Somalis protest after Al-Shabab attack
MOGADISHU: Crowds of Somalis joined a demonstration on Monday against the jihadist group Al-Shabab at the site of a deadly beachfront attack in the capital Mogadishu last week.
A suicide bomber and gunmen attacked the popular Lido Beach on Friday evening, killing 37 people and wounding scores more, in one of the deadliest strikes in the East African country in months.
“We came here to Lido Beach to show we can’t be intimidated,” said one of the protesters, Abdisalam Ahmed Abdullahi.
“Mogadishu people are not afraid of Kharijite enemy,” he said, using a government term for the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants who have carried out numerous attacks in the predominantly Muslim country for years.
Survivors of Friday’s assault described how following an explosion, gunmen stormed onto the beach intending to “kill everyone they could,” with graphic video shared online showing bloodied bodies on the sand.
Al-Shabab has been waging a bloody insurgency against Somalia’s fragile federal government for more than 17 years and has previously targeted the Lido beach area, which is popular with business people and government members as well as ordinary Somalis.
“Somali people in general, and those in Mogadishu particularly, need to unite in fighting against the enemy,” said Livestock Minister Hassan Hussein, one of several government officials who joined the rally.
He described Al-Shabab militants as “bedbugs.”
Amina Ibrahim Halane said she joined the rally to show sympathy for the victims of Friday’s attack, saying they were simply “innocent men... enjoying their city.”
Philippines showers gymnast Carlos Yulo with praises, gifts after double Olympic gold
- Yulo is the first Filipino to win two golds at a single Olympics
- Athlete dedicated victory to ‘Filipino people who supported me’
MANILA: From ordinary citizens, government officials to local brands, Filipinos are celebrating gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo’s historic double gold medal win at the Paris Olympics with high praises and pledges of gifts — including a hero’s parade, a new home and a lifetime supply of ramen.
Yulo earned the Philippines its first-ever Olympic medal in gymnastics when he won the men’s floor exercise final at the Paris Games on Saturday, making him only the second Filipino athlete to win an Olympic gold, after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in 2020.
The 24-year-old scooped his second gold medal in as many days after he soared to the top of the podium in the men’s vault event, becoming the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to win two golds at a single Olympics.
“No words can express how proud we are of you, Caloy. You have achieved gold for the Philippines not once, but twice,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Facebook, using the athlete’s nickname.
“Filipinos all over the world stood united, cheering and rooting for you.”
Before this year’s Olympics, Yulo’s accolades had included winning gold in 2019 and 2021 at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, five golds at the 2022 Southeast Asian Games and another three at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championship.
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna said on Monday that the city will hold a hero’s parade for Yulo, the date of which will be announced later.
The Philippine government will hand Yulo 10 million Philippine pesos ($172,750) – a reward promised to any gold medalists.
The House of Representatives has also pledged to give the gymnast an additional 6 million pesos in cash incentives, as the speaker of the lower house, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, called him a “once-in-a-century Filipino athlete.”
He said: “Caloy’s achievements have not only brought glory to the Philippines, but have also highlighted the potential of our athletes to excel in the international arena.
“We will continue to support and invest in our sports programs to nurture and develop more world-class athletes like Caloy. His success is a shining example of hope and a source of inspiration for all of us.”
Private sector companies, big and small, have also announced a flurry of gifts for Yulo, including offers of free lifetime ramen from a Japanese restaurant in Calasiao and free baked mac and cheese for life from a Manila-based eatery.
A real estate firm has promised him a fully furnished, three-bedroom condominium at McKinley Hill, the largest condominium development in the Manila metropolitan area, while a Filipino doctor has pledged free consultation and endoscopic procedures for Yulo when he turns 45, as well as to any patients in need selected by the gymnast.
When he realized he had secured the gold on Saturday, Yulo collapsed to the ground in tears, a scene that has now been replayed millions of times on social media as his name trended on various online platforms over the weekend.
“I don’t know what to say,” he said. “We are a really small country … so, to be able to get a gold medal for us is big for us — huge. I dedicate this to the Filipino people who supported me.”
Yulo, who trained for seven years in Japan due to a lack of opportunity back home, hopes that his historic win will open the door for Philippine youth to take up the sport.
“Hopefully gymnastics in the country will grow,” he said.
For some Filipinos, Yulo’s historic win has filled them with pride.
“It makes me proud to be a Filipino because he carries the Philippine flag … because the Philippine flag was raised twice,” Joelina Picardal, a 23-year-old office administrator in Manila, told Arab News. “All I can say to him is: Keep it up!”
Carmelita Trinidad, a 77-year-old retiree also based in the capital, said that Yulo’s Olympics performance gave her hope for the younger generation.
“I’m very proud (of him). He also comes from a poor background, but he really persevered,” she told Arab News. “I hope that the young people will also be able to achieve what he achieved.”
What’s behind Bangladesh’s protest against PM Sheikh Hasina?
- Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country
- Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said an interim government would be formed
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country, as more people were killed in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.
Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation in a televised address to the nation and said an interim government would be formed.
Media reports said Hasina, 76, was flown in a military helicopter with her sister and was headed to India. The CNN News 18 television channel said she had landed in Agartala, the capital of India’s northeastern state of Tripura, across the eastern border of Bangladesh.
Here are details of the new protests and their history:
CALLS FOR HASINA TO STEP DOWN
The ‘Students Against Discrimination’ group, which was at the forefront of last month’s job quota protests, is leading the latest demonstrations.
The protests to reform the quota system paused after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas on July 21. Protesters, however, returned last week demanding a public apology from Hasina for the violence, restoration of Internet connections, reopening of college and university campuses and release of those arrested.
By the weekend, the demonstrations spiralled into a campaign seeking Hasina’s ouster as demonstrators demanded justice for people killed last month.
The students’ group called for a nationwide non-cooperation movement starting Sunday with a single-point agenda — Hasina must resign.
WHY DO PROTESTERS WANT HASINA’S RESIGNATION?
The protesters blame Hasina’s government for the violence during the protests in July. Hasina’s critics and rights groups have accused her government of using excessive force against protesters, a charge the government denies.
WHAT HAS HASINA SAID RECENTLY?
Hasina, 76, and her government initially said students were not involved in the violence during the quota protests and blamed the Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the clashes and arson.
But after violence erupted again on Sunday, Hasina said that “those who are carrying out violence are not students but terrorists who are out to destabilize the nation.”
The students group has declined Hasina’s offer for talks to resolve the crisis.
WHAT TRIGGERED THE JOB-QUOTA PROTESTS?
Demonstrations started at university campuses in June after the High Court reinstated a quota system for government jobs, overturning a 2018 decision by Hasina’s government to scrap it.
The Supreme Court suspended the high court order after the government’s appeal and then dismissed the lower court order last month, directing that 93 percent of jobs should be open to candidates on merit.
FLAGGING ECONOMY, UNEMPLOYMENT
Experts also attribute the current unrest in Bangladesh to stagnant job growth in the private sector, making public sector jobs, with their accompanying regular wage hikes and privileges, very attractive.
The quotas sparked anger among students grappling with high youth unemployment, as nearly 32 million young people are out of work or education in a population of 170 million.
The flagging economy, once among the world’s fastest growing on the back of the country’s booming garments sector, has stagnated. Inflation hovers around 10 percent per annum and dollar reserves are shrinking.
HASINA WINS JANUARY ELECTION
Hasina retained power for a fourth straight term in a January general election boycotted by BNP, which accused her Awami League of trying to legitimize sham elections.
BNP said 10 million party workers were on the run ahead of the election with nearly 25,000 arrested following deadly anti-government protests on Oct. 28. Hasina blamed the BNP for instigating anti-government protests that rocked Dhaka ahead of the election and left at least 10 people dead.
