PARIS: France on Friday urged the Kosovo authorities to end "unilateral actions" that could contribute to increasing tensions with Serbs.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called for the opening of a flashpoint bridge, prompting protests, and authorities this week raided post offices long used by residents who maintain funds in Serbia.
"France firmly condemns the multiplication of unilateral actions from the Kosovo authorities in the north of the country that are affecting the daily life of the Serb community," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"These actions endanger efforts to normalise relations with Serbia that are a prerequisite for the realisation of the European prospects of both countries," it said.
"France calls on the Kosovo authorities to refrain from any new unilateral action, which would again contribute to the escalation of tensions," the ministry added.
A NATO bombing campaign in 1999 brought self-rule to Albanian-majority Kosovo from Serbia after a war that left 13,000 dead.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move never acknowledged by Serbia.
Serbia-Kosovo tensions have simmered for months following the introduction of a rule this year that made the euro the only legal currency in Kosovo and effectively outlawed use of the Serbian dinar.
The United States on Wednesday said it was "concerned by continuing uncoordinated decisions by the leadership of Kosovo".
The NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR warned a day earlier it would intervene if Kosovo sought to reopen the bridge separating communities in the divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, the scene of frequent clashes.
France urges Kosovo to stop 'actions' irking Serbs
https://arab.news/5ud28
France urges Kosovo to stop 'actions' irking Serbs
- France firmly condemns the multiplication of unilateral actions from the Kosovo authorities in the north of the country that are affecting the daily life of the Serb community
- France calls on the Kosovo authorities to refrain from any new unilateral action
Saudi to participate in Bio Japan
- Leading biotech companies, universities and almost every major global pharmaceutical company takes part in Bio Japan
- Saudi Arabia has launched a comprehensive National Biotechnology Strategy and is investing in biotechnology as a part of Saudi Vision 2030
YOKOHAMA: Saudi Arabia is participating in Bio Japan – the world’s oldest biotechnology exhibition and business event – for the first time and presented a seminar on Wednesday in conjunction with the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East.
Leading biotech companies, universities and almost every major global pharmaceutical company takes part in Bio Japan, which focuses on biotechnology, regenerative medicine, and the health care industry in general.
Saudi Arabia has launched a comprehensive National Biotechnology Strategy and is investing in biotechnology as a part of Saudi Vision 2030, recognizing its great potential to drive economic diversification and innovation.
The plan is to foster collaboration between government agencies and private enterprises and unlock the full potential of biotechnology research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization. By unifying efforts and establishing a clear road map, Saudi Arabia seeks to position itself as a global leader in biotechnology and capitalize on the sector’s vast benefits for both domestic and international markets.
Representing Saudi Arabia at the event were Bandar bin Abdulmohsen Al-Knawi, Executive Director General for Health Affairs at the Ministry of National Guard; Ammar Al-Taf, the Assistant Deputy of the Ministry of Investment; and Majed Al-Saadi, the General Manager of Investor Outreach in the Ministry of Investments. Saudi Ambassador to Japan, Dr. Ghazi Binzagr also attended the workshop and the meetings.
Mohammed Al-Dahlawi, director Japan Office Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia is also participating along with Mohammed Alfehaid, Director, Industrial Biotech, Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia.
Bio Japan 2024, held in Yokohama and running from October 9th to 11th, brings together key players in the industry, experts, and innovators from around the world to showcase pioneering advancements in biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and health care technology.
According to the organizers, the conference brings together over 20,000 attendees from 35 countries, including leading biotech companies, research institutions, and government representatives.
Key topics of discussion will include innovations in biopharmaceuticals, advancements in stem cell research and gene therapies, sustainability in biotech, and how AI is revolutionizing drug discovery processes.
UK’s Tom Fletcher named head of UN humanitarian agency
- The organization grapples with unprecedented crises and budget pressures
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations named British diplomat and academic Tom Fletcher as head of its humanitarian agency on Wednesday, as the organization grapples with unprecedented crises and budget pressures.
“United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced the appointment of Tom Fletcher of the United Kingdom as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),” the UN said in a statement.
Polish, Czech leaders urge tougher EU migration rules
- Calling the pact “insufficient” after talks with his Polish counterpart, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Prague and Warsaw “want a stricter and faster asylum policy“
- “We want to step up the combat with smugglers and illegal migration organizers“
PRAGUE: Poland and the Czech Republic on Wednesday called for hardening the European Union’s migration policy and boosting the bloc’s external border against what they argued was externally orchestrated migratory pressure.
Both Central European countries have in the past months campaigned for “new ways” to handle irregular migrants and toughening the landmark overhaul of EU migration policies coming into effect from 2026.
Calling the pact “insufficient” after talks with his Polish counterpart, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Prague and Warsaw “want a stricter and faster asylum policy.”
“We want to boost the repatriation policy, which is inefficient. We want to step up the combat with smugglers and illegal migration organizers,” Fiala said.
Poland’s premier Donald Tusk urged “very serious debate” on migration during the next summit of the bloc leaders in Brussels.
“Together we have to convince the other partners in the EU, and we will do so, that the task of the EU is to protect the external border and to reduce illegal migration to a minimum,” Tusk told reporters in Prague.
He added that the bloc had to be protected “from the wave of illegal migration, increasingly organized by external forces.”
Poland is one of the countries on the EU’s eastern flank that has been dealing with a migration influx it has described as a “hybrid” attack by Belarus and its ally Russia.
Since summer 2021, thousands of migrants and refugees, mainly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross the border between Belarus and Poland.
“Every day, thousands of Polish soldiers, policemen, border guards are not guarding but fighting against the pressure organized by the Lukashenko regime,” Tusk said.
“This resembles a war landscape rather than a normal border policy. Shots are heard every day,” he added.
Warsaw has accused Moscow of smuggling people from Africa into Europe by sending them to the Polish border through Belarus.
In May, Warsaw announced it would spend more than 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion) to boost border protection.
Air France opens internal probe after plane flew over Iraq during Iranian attack on Israel
- Flight AF662 from Paris to Dubai was traveling at the time of the attack through a special corridor used by all airlines in southern Iraq
- Fifteen minutes later it left the country’s air space, which was not closed to airplane traffic until 1756 GMT
PARIS: Air France said on Wednesday it had opened an internal investigation after one of its planes flew over Iraq on Oct. 1 during an Iranian missile attack on Israel.
The company said flight AF662 from Paris to Dubai was traveling at the time of the attack through a special corridor used by all airlines in southern Iraq and fifteen minutes later it left the country’s air space, which was not closed to airplane traffic until 1756 GMT.
“Without waiting for instructions from the Iraqi authorities, Air France has decided to suspend overflight of the country’s airspace by its aircraft from 1700 GMT,” the airline said.
“An internal investigation has been launched into this event,” it added.
Air France also said that another flight returned to Paris, while a third, from Singapore to Paris, made an additional stop in Delhi to get more fuel to take a longer route.
The story was first reported by TV channel TF1 Info.
3 protesters are killed in clashes with police after Pakistan banned an ethnic rights group
- Officers fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered in the town of Jamrud
- Footage on social media showed police firing in the air, unleashing tear gas and wielding batons among the crowd
PESHAWAR: At least three people were killed in clashes Wednesday between Pakistani police and supporters of a rights group advocating for the Pashtun ethnic minority, angered by a government ban imposed on the organization this week, local officials said.
Officers fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered in the town of Jamrud, near the city of Peshawar to denounce the ban. Roohul Ameen, a doctor at a main local hospital said they received three bodies brought in following the clashes and about a dozen injured protesters.
Footage on social media showed police firing in the air, unleashing tear gas and wielding batons among the crowd, which responded by throwing stones at the officers.
The violence came after the government on Monday banned the Pashtun Protection Movement, saying it supports the Pakistani Taliban, an outlawed militant group.
It also banned rallies by the group in the restive northwest, allegedly because the demonstrations are against the interests of Pakistan. The Pashtun Protection Movement denies backing the Pakistani Taliban.
The group was founded in 2014, after its leaders accused the Pakistani military and local police of abuses against the Pashtuns in their war against militants.
The group also says Pakistani security forces have been illegally detaining its members. The military and the government have denied all the allegations, saying their operations only target insurgents.
The group has since been waging a campaign to force the military to leave the former tribal regions in the northwest that border Afghanistan. Ethnic Pashtuns live mainly in eastern and southern Afghanistan but also all across Pakistan, in particular in parts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The Pakistani Taliban are a militant group that is separate but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. They have stepped up attacks in recent years mainly targeting Pakistani security forces but hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the crossfire.
Manzoor Pashteen, who heads the Pashtun Protection Movement, said the group does not accept the government ban and was determined to hold a peaceful meeting of elders on Friday in the town of Regi, a former militant stronghold in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Amnesty International on Wednesday also asked Pakistan’s government to revoke the ban on the Pashtun group.
The “latest arbitrary ban under over-broad powers of the terror law is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for South Asia, accusing the authorities of “resorting to unlawful use of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans on the coverage of protests or rallies.”
