BRICS nations ask all states to prevent terrorist activities from their soil

Agencies
July 27, 2019

Rio de Janeiro, Jul 27: India along with other BRICS nations on Friday called on all states to prevent the financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions from their territories, as they condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

During the meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations in Rio de Janeiro, the five nations called for concerted efforts to fight terrorism under UN auspices on a firm international legal basis.

India was represented by Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Gen (retd) V K Singh. The five nations recognised the primary role of states and their competent bodies in preventing and countering terrorism.

The ministers of these countries expressed their conviction that a comprehensive approach is necessary to ensure effective results against terrorism.

The comprehensive approach should include countering radicalisation, recruitment, travel of foreign terrorist fighters, blocking sources and channels of terrorist financing, dismantling terrorist bases and countering misuse of the Internet by terrorist entities through misuse of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), a statement released after the meeting said.

The ministers deplored recent terrorist attacks, including in some BRICS countries. They condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever and by whomsoever committed, the statement said.

They described terrorist acts as criminal and unjustifiable, which should not be associated with any religion, nationality, ethnic group or civilization.

They recalled the responsibility of all states to prevent the financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions from their territories, the statement said. The statement did not mention the name of any country.

The ministers also called for an expedited adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN General Assembly.

They emphasised the importance of preventing and combating the financing of terrorism. To address the threat of chemical and biological terrorism, they emphasised the need to launch multilateral negotiations on an international convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism, including at the Conference on Disarmament, the statement said.

They recognised progress that has been made on BRICS cooperation in countering terrorism through the BRICS Working Group on Counter Terrorism.

The five nations also reaffirmed their commitment to support international cooperation in combating illicit financial flows from all types of criminal activity, including within the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the World Customs Organisation.

They underscored the importance of improving mutual exchanges and data sharing. They emphasised the importance of upholding and supporting the objectives of FATF, as well of intensifying cooperation to implement and improve its standards on combating Money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation.

The ministers exchanged views on key issues on the international agenda. They also reviewed with satisfaction the progress of BRICS cooperation featuring mutual respect and understanding, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation.

The ministers agreed to further deepen BRICS three-pillar-driven cooperation in the areas of economy, peace and security and people-to-people exchanges.

They reaffirmed the commitment to upholding and respecting international law and to an international system in which sovereign States cooperate to maintain peace and security, advance sustainable development and ensure the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.

They underlined support for multilateralism and the central role of the UN in international affairs, and the commitment to uphold the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

They reiterated the urgent need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system, including the UN, the WTO, the IMF, and other international organisations.

The international system, including international organisations, in particular the United Nations, should promote the interests of all, they said.

The Ministers reaffirmed the commitment to the principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality, democracy, inclusiveness and strengthened collaboration, and to build a brighter shared future for the global community through mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Ministers recalled the 2005 World Summit Outcome document and reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative, effective, and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges.

China and Russia reiterated the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs and support their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN, the statement said.

They underscored the importance of sustained efforts aimed at making the United Nations more effective and efficient in implementing its mandates, it said.

Comments

Mr Frank
 - 
Sunday, 28 Jul 2019

Is it applies to terrorist routine killing in India by lyching mobing and raping.

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Agencies
March 8,2020

Washington, Mar 8: An attendee at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which also saw the participation of US President Donald Trump, has tested positive for COVID-19, the American Conservative Union (ACU) said.

The exposure occurred prior to the conference held in National Harbor, Maryland, just south of Washington D.C., Xinhua news agency quoted the ACU as saying in a statement on Saturday.

A New Jersey hospital tested the person, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the positive result, said the statement.

"The individual is under the care of medical professionals in the state of New Jersey, and has been quarantined," it said.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the gathering, which took place from February 26-29.

Also present at the event were a number of administration and cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, and newly-appointed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement Saturday that the White House was aware of the development.

"At this time there is no indication that either President Trump or Vice President Pence met with or were in close proximity to the attendee," Grisham said in a statement.

"The President's physician and US Secret Service have been working closely with White House Staff and various agencies to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the First Family and the entire White House Complex safe and healthy."

The news emerged as Washington D.C. and neighbouring state of Virginia respectively confirmed their first cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.

In a press conference on Saturday night, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said a resident in his 50s showed symptoms of a respiratory virus in February. He was admitted to a hospital in the District on March 5.

The patient had no history of recent international travel, nor had he been exposed to anyone who was confirmed to be infected, according to Bowser.

The Mayor said D.C. health authorities were investigating the man's contact with other people before he went to the hospital.

A US Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia, tested positive on Saturday for COVID-19 and is currently being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, according to a Pentagon spokesman.

"The Marine recently returned from overseas where he was on official business," tweeted Jonathan Rath Hoffman, adding that Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and the White House have been briefed.

As of Saturday night, more than 420 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the US with 17 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Boston, Jun 7: Dozens of scientists doing research funded by Mark Zuckerberg say Facebook should not be letting President Donald Trump use of the social media platform to spread both misinformation and incendiary statements.

The researchers, including 60 professors at leading US research institutions, wrote a letter to the Facebook CEO on Saturday asking that he consider stricter policies on misinformation and incendiary language that harms people," especially during the current turmoil over racial injustice.

The letter calls the spread of deliberate misinformation and divisive language the researchers' goal of using technology to prevent and eradicate disease, improving childhood education and reform the criminal justice system.

The researchers' mission "is antithetical to some of the stances that Facebook has been taking, so we're encouraging them to be more on the side of truth and on the right side of history as we've said in the letter, said Debora Marks of Harvard Medical School, one of three professors who organized the letter.

The other organisers are Martin Kampmann of the University of California-San Francisco and Jason Shepherd of the University of Utah.

All have grants from a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative program working to prevent, cure and treat neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The initiative is run by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.

They said the letter had more than 160 signatories. Shepherd said about 10% are employees of Chan Zuckerberg foundations.

The letter objects specifically to Zuckerberg's decision not to at least flag as a violation of Facebook's community standards Trump's post that stated when the looting starts, the shooting starts after unrest in Minneapolis over the videotaped killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer.

The letter's authors called the post a clear statement of inciting violence.

Twitter had both flagged and demoted a Trump tweet using the same language.

The Associated Press emailed the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative press office for comment. It did not immediately respond.

Some Facebook employees have publicly objected to Zuckerberg's refusal to take down or label misleading or incendiary posts by Trump or other politicians. But Zuckerberg who controls a majority of voting shares in the company has so far refused.

On Friday, Zuckerberg said in a post that he would review potential options for handling violating or partially-violating content aside from the binary leave-it-up or take-it-down decisions I know many of you think we should have labeled the President's posts in some way last week, he wrote.

"Our current policy is that if content is actually inciting violence, then the right mitigation is to take that content down not let people continue seeing it behind a flag. There is no exception to this policy for politicians or newsworthiness.

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News Network
March 21,2020

Rome, Mar 21: Italy on Friday reported a record 627 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, taking its overall toll past 4,000 as the pandemic gathered pace despite government efforts to halt its spread.

The total number of deaths was 4,032, with the number of infections reaching 47,021.

Italy's previous one-day record death toll was 475 on Wednesday.

The nation of 60 million now accounts for 36.6 percent of the world's coronavirus deaths.

Italy has seen more than 1,500 deaths from COVID-19 in the past three days alone.

Its current daily death rate is higher than that officially reported by China at the peak of its outbreak around Wuhan's Hubei province.

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