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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News Network
June 25,2020

Jun 25: Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s $40 billion surge this week and the recent ascent of Pinduoduo Inc. have reshuffled the ranking of China's richest people.

The country's largest game developer has surpassed Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as Asia's most-valuable company, with its shares rising above HK$500 in intraday trading Wednesday for the first time. Pinduoduo, a Groupon-like shopping app also known as PDD, has more than doubled this year.

The rallies have propelled the wealth of their founders, with an added twist: Tencent's Pony Ma, worth $50 billion, has surpassed Jack Ma's $48 billion fortune, becoming China's richest person. And Colin Huang of PDD, whose net worth stands at $43 billion, has squeezed real estate mogul Hui Ka Yan of China Evergrande Group out of the top three earlier this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digitization of the workplace and changed consumers' habits, boosting shares of many internet companies. Now tech tycoons are dominating the ranks of China's richest people. They occupy four of the top five spots: Ding Lei of Tencent peer NetEase Inc. follows China Evergrande's Hui.

‘Perform Strongly'

Tencent has come a long way since hitting a low in 2018, when China froze the approval process for new games. Since then, the stock has almost doubled, and last month the tech giant reported a 26 per cent jump in first-quarter revenue.

“Tencent's online games segment will probably perform strongly through the Covid-19 pandemic, and most of its other businesses are relatively unscathed,” said Vey-Sern Ling, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

That has been a boon for Pony Ma, 48, who owns a 7 per cent stake in the company and pocketed about $757 million from selling some 14.6 million of his Tencent shares this year, data complied by Bloomberg show.

The native of China's southern Guangdong province studied computer science at Shenzhen University and was a software developer at a supplier of telecom services and products before co-founding Tencent with four others in the late 1990s. At the time, the company focused on instant-messaging services.

It has been a long comeback for Pony Ma. He overtook real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin as China's second-richest person in 2013 and topped Baidu Inc.'s Robin Li as the wealthiest in early 2014. Later that year, Alibaba went public in the U.S., catapulting Jack Ma's fortune.

Bloomberg Intelligence's Ling notes, however, that Tencent's jump this year has lagged behind some internet peers, especially those in e-commerce, games and online entertainment. Just consider: Tencent shares have climbed 31 per cent in 2020, while PDD's American depositary receipts have more than doubled. Alibaba, meanwhile, has advanced just 6.9 per cent.

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News Network
April 25,2020

Bueno Aires, Apr 25: Dozens of prisoners at a jail in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires rioted on Friday demanding urgent health measures after confirmation of a coronavirus case inside the facility.

Police surrounded the prison, which holds around 2,200 inmates, as explosions were heard, news agency reporters at the scene said.

A group of prisoners managed to climb onto a roof, burn mattresses and throw objects at security guards trying to quell the uprising.

Authorities have yet to comment on the riot or whether there are any injuries.

Inmates could be heard shouting demands for a judge to hear their case and for better protection against the pandemic, just a few days after a warden at the Villa Devoto prison was confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus.

"COVID-19 in Devoto, genocidal judges," read a banner hung from the prison roof. "We refuse to die in prison," read another.

The inmates are demanding, among other things, that releases that were pending before the pandemic be processed.

Several other riots broke out in prisons last week, including in Florencio Varela in Buenos Aires province where one inmate died and 20 were injured.

Argentina has been in lockdown since March 20 and has recorded more than 3,400 coronavirus cases and 167 deaths.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Islamabad, Jun 10: The World Health Organization has told Pakistan it should implement "intermittent" lockdowns to counter a surge in coronavirus infections that has come as the country loosens restrictions, officials said.

Since the start of Pakistan's outbreak in March, Prime Minister Imran Khan opposed a nationwide lockdown of the sort seen elsewhere, arguing the impoverished country could not afford it.

Instead, Pakistan's four provinces ordered a patchwork of closures, but last week Khan said most of these restrictions would be lifted.

Health officials on Wednesday declared a record number of new cases in the past 24 hours. The country has now confirmed a total of more than 113,000 cases and 2,200 deaths -- though with testing still limited, real rates are thought to be much higher.

"As of today, Pakistan does not meet any of the pre-requisite conditions for opening the lockdown", the WHO said in a letter confirmed by Pakistan officials on Tuesday.

Many people have not adopted behavioural changes such as social distancing and frequent hand-washing, meaning "difficult" decisions will be required including "intermittent lockdowns" in targeted areas, the letter states.

Some 25 percent of tests in Pakistan come back positive for COVID-19, the WHO said, indicating high levels of infection in the general population.

The health body recommended an intermittent lockdown cycle of two weeks on, two weeks off.

Responding to the WHO's letter, Zafar Mirza, the prime minister's special advisor for health, said the country had "consciously but gradually" eased lockdowns while enforcing guidelines in shops, mosques and public transport.

"We have to make tough policy choices to strike a balance between lives and livelihoods," Mirza said Wednesday.

Punjab's provincial health minister Yasmin Rashid, who received the WHO's letter, said the provincial government had already given "orders to take strict action against those violating" virus guidelines.

Hospitals across Pakistan say they are at or near capacity, and some are turning COVID-19 patients away.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that 136,000 cases had been reported in the previous 24 hours, "the most in a single day so far", with the majority of them in South Asia and the Americas.

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