Hafiz Saeed should be prosecuted to 'fullest extent of law': US

Agencies
January 19, 2018

Washington, Jan 19: A day after Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that no action could be taken against Hafiz Saeed as there is no case against him, the United States Administration has called for the prosecution of the UN-designated terrorist "to the fullest extent of the law".

Reacting strongly to Pakistan PM's remarks, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said, ''The US believes that Hafiz Saeed should be prosecuted and Pakistan has been told about it.''

"We believe that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He is listed by the UNSC 1267, the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee for targeted sanctions due to his affiliation with Lashkar-e-Toiba, which is a designated foreign terror organisation," Nauert said in her daily news conference on Thursday.

"We have made our points and concerns to the Pakistani government very clear. We believe that this individual should be prosecuted," Nauert said.

Speaking to Pakistan's leading Geo TV on Tuesday, Abbasi also referred to Hafiz Saeed as 'sahib' or 'sir'.

"There is no case against Hafiz Saeed 'sahib' in Pakistan. Only when there is a case can there be action," Abbasi said when asked why there was no action against him.

Responding to a question on the JuD chief, Nauert further said the US has "certainly seen" the reports about Abbasi's comment on Hafiz Saeed.

"We regard him as a terrorist, a part of a foreign terrorist organisation. He was the mastermind, we believe, of the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed many people, including Americans as well," she added.

Saeed, who heads terrorist outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), was released from house arrest in Pakistan in November.

The US has labelled JuD the "terrorist front" for the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a group Saeed founded in 1987. LeT was responsible for carrying the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people.

Acknowledging that the US has had some challenging times with the government of Pakistan recently, Nauert said the Trump Administration expects Pakistan to do a lot more to address terrorism issues.

"That's something that we've been very clear about all along. You know the news that we had that came out a couple weeks ago about our decision to withhold some of the security funding for Pakistan," she said.

Nauert said the entire administration is on the same page on the issue of US-Pakistan relationship.

Early this month, the US suspended about USD 2 billion worth of security assistance to Pakistan accusing it of not doing enough in the fight against terrorism.

In retaliation, Pakistan suspended military and intelligence co-operation with the US.

The State Department yesterday said it has not received any formal information in this regard from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai yesterday called out on Pakistan Prime Minister's bluff that there is no case against 2008 Mumbai mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

“Oh! There is plenty of evidence. Everyone knows that,” said Karzai.

The former Afghan president said this while attending the 2018 Raisina Dialogue in the national capital.

Saeed has been grabbing headlines often since his release from house arrest in November. He was placed under the same in January 2017.

A Pakistani Urdu newspaper ‘Khabrain’ recently sparked a row with its new year calendar.

The calendar has become a talking point as it carries a photograph of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

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Agencies
May 7,2020

A patient in hospital with Covid-19 has given birth to a healthy baby boy in Dubai.

The 25-year-old Indian was admitted to Al Zahra Hospital after testing positive on May 2.

Although the baby was not due to arrive until May 19, the woman went into labour three days later and delivered a healthy boy weighing 3.8kg.

The parents are yet to name the child, who has also been tested for the virus.

“When we first received the Covid-19 positive diagnosis, we were afraid for the health of both my wife and the baby,” said the boy’s father, who did not want to give his name.

“Thankfully with the help of the doctors and nurses at Al Zahra Hospital, my son was born with no complications and my wife remains in stable condition.

“We couldn’t be more grateful.”

Despite arriving two weeks early, both mother and child are doing well but will only be allowed to leave the hospital to return to their home in Dubai after they return three negative tests on the trot.

“The contractions started very suddenly and it all happened very quickly,” said Al Zahra Hospital nursing director Maysoon Yousef.

“The delivery took about 10 to 15 minutes which is something we do not see very often.

“There were no complications and both the mother and baby are in good condition.”

Strict measures are in place to ensure hygiene for those inside the hospital, as well as visitors.

The new mum and her son are in the same room as the baby needs to be nursed.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a US national public health institute, there is no evidence that suggests the virus can be transmitted through breastfeeding.

New mothers infected with the virus should wear a mask, wash their hands before and after touching the baby.

“We operate by the latest Covid-19 international and local guidelines when it comes to the management of our maternity patients and otherwise,” said Dr Ghassan Lutfi, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the hospital.

“We take strict measures to guarantee that there is no risk of cross contamination and that all our patients are in safe hands.”

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News Network
June 2,2020

Jun 2: A new female billionaire has emerged from one of Asia's most-expensive breakups.

Du Weimin, the chairman of Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., transferred 161.3 million shares of the vaccine maker to his ex-wife, Yuan Liping, according to a May 29 filing, immediately catapulting her into the ranks of the world's richest.

The stock was worth $3.2 billion as of Monday's close.

Yuan, 49 this year, owns the shares directly, but signed an agreement delegating the voting rights to her ex-husband, the filing shows. The Canadian citizen, who resides in Shenzhen, served as a director of Kangtai between May 2011 and August 2018. She's now the vice general manager of subsidiary Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Yuan holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Beijing's University of International Business and Economics.

Kangtai shares have more than doubled in the past year and have continued their ascent since February, when the company announced a plan to develop a vaccine to fight the coronavirus. They slipped for a second day Tuesday following news of the divorce terms, losing 3.1% as of 9:43 a.m. in Hong Kong and bringing the company's market value to $12.9 billion.

Du's net worth has now dropped to about $3.1 billion from $6.5 billion before the split, excluding his pledged shares.

The 56-year-old was born into a farming family in China's Jiangxi province. After studying chemistry in college, he began working in a clinic in 1987 and became a sales manager for a biotech company in 1995, according to the prospectus of Kangtai's 2017 initial public offering. In 2009, Kangtai acquired Minhai, the company Du founded in 2004, and he became the chairman of the combined entity.

China's rapidly growing economy has been an engine for the country's richest, and Du is not the only tycoon who's had to pay a steep price for a divorce. In 2012, Wu Yajun, at one point the nation's richest woman, transferred a stake worth about $2.3 billion to her ex-husband, Cai Kui, who co-founded developer Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. In 2016, tech billionaire Zhou Yahui gave $1.1 billion of shares in his online gaming company, Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., to ex-wife Li Qiong after a civil court settlement.

Sometimes, a goodbye can be time-consuming too. South Korean tycoon Chey Tae-won's wife filed a lawsuit in December asking for a 42.3% stake in SK Holdings Co. valued at $1.2 billion. That would make her the second-largest shareholder of the company should she win the case, which is still ongoing.

The most expensive divorce in history is that of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos. The Amazon.com Inc. founder gave 4% of the online retailer to Mackenzie, who now has a $48 billion fortune and is the world's fourth-richest woman.

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Agencies
June 28,2020

Paris, Jun 28: More than 10 million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially declared around the world, half of them in Europe and the United States, according to an AFP tally on Sunday based on official sources.

At least 10,003,942 infections, including 498,779 deaths, have been registered globally.

Europe remains the hardest hit continent with 2,637,546 cases including 195,975 fatalities, while the United States has 2,510,323 infections including 125,539 deaths.

The rate of infections worldwide continues to rise, with one million new cases recorded in just six days.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases and some do not have the capacity to carry out widescale testing.

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