Pakistanis, Kashmiris, Sikhs target Indians celebrating I-Day in London; 4 arrested

Agencies
August 16, 2019

London: Scotland Yard has arrested four persons after thousands of agitators converged outside the Indian High Commission in London for planned protests and counter-demonstrations to mark Independence Day on Thursday, resulting in an extremely tense face-off between different groups.

The anti-India protest, organised by Pakistani groups and Sikh and Kashmiri separatist outfits, was demarcated with metal barriers from a pro-India demonstration outside India House, during which placard-waving crowds disrupted the flow of traffic and chanted slogans.

As the clashes progressed through the day, there were instances of stone-pelting and bottle-throwing, with Scotland Yard officers on duty seen tackling some of the protesters to restrain them.

The protests, which according to the Metropolitan Police resulted in one injury, was described as largely peaceful involving a small number of incidents.

"The event was largely peaceful but officers did have to react and deal with a small number of incidents as they happened. In total there were four arrests for Section 4 of the Public Order Act, affray, obstruction of police and possession of an offensive weapon," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"Public order trained officers were policing today's demonstration as part of a planned operation. One person was injured during the demonstrations," it said.

Earlier, the Met Police had confirmed that it had been aware of the protests and had therefore made appropriate policing arrangements, which included considerable number of officers on foot as well as officers mounted on horses.

While the anti-India protesters chanted slogans, the counter-protesters waved the Tricolour during the face off. The anti-India crowd included the pro-Khalistan Referendum 2020 group, a regular feature outside India House during Independence Day protests over the years.

However, the turnout this year was expected to be much larger in the wake of the Indian government's move to revoke the special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier in the day, the Indian High Commission hosted its annual Independence Day celebrations with a flag-hoisting ceremony, with the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Ruchi Ghanashyam, felicitating members of the World Peace Rally, which concluded in London this week after covering 105 cities and a distance of 17,000-km.

Ghanashyam also greeted the Indian Cricket Association for the Physically Challenged team, which recently beat England to win the Physical Disability World Cricket Series 2019 at Worcester in the West Midlands region of England.

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News Network
June 1,2020

New Delhi, Jun 1: Actor Kendrick Sampson, who stars in HBO series Insecure, was struck by rubber bullets as Los Angeles police officers tried to disperse a crowd protesting George Floyd”s death in Minneapolis.

Floyd, a black man, died last Monday in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck for more than eight minutes. The officer was arrested on Friday and charged with third-degree murder.

The actor went live via Instagram on Saturday to show his view of events, but he could be also be seen on a CNN broadcast simultaneously, with viewers watching him get hit by a police baton on TV.

Sampson posted several videos on his page of a large demonstration at Pan Pacific Park near the city”s Fairfax District, where violent clashes took place throughout the day outside the Grove shopping center.

In one video, LAPD officers can be seen firing rubber bullets to try and regain control at the park.

“They shot me four times already. I already got hurt and I got hit with a baton,” Sampson said in the video on Instagram.

Another clip showed him moving away from the police, as he appeared to be hit by an officer”s baton.

“Y”all ain”t see no police f*****g up white folks when they took guns to the statehouse,” he said, referring to an incident in Michigan over coronavirus restrictions, not in California. “Y”all didn”t see police attacking white folks, beating em up with batons, shooting them with rubber bullets when they brought guns to f*****g state houses. We came up here with no weapons, with masks.… And we”re the ones who are not peaceful,” Sampson alleged.

Protests turned violent over Floyd”s death and other police killings of black people spread Saturday in dozens of US cities, with police cars set ablaze, reports of injuries mounting on all sides, shops and showrooms vandalised amid the lockdown.

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Seoul, Jun 6: South Korea on Saturday reported 51 new cases of COVID-19, mostly in the densely populated capital region, as authorities scramble to stem transmissions among low-income workers who can't afford to stay home.

The figures announced by South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,719 workers and 273 deaths.

At least 34 of the new coronavirus cases were linked to door-to-door sellers hired by Richway, a Seoul-based health product provider.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said the spread of the virus among Richway sellers was particularly alarming as most of them are in their 60s and 70s. He called for officials to strengthen their efforts to find and examine workplaces vulnerable to infections.

More than 120 infections have also been linked to a massive warehouse operated by Coupang, a local e-commerce giant, which has been accused of failing to properly implement preventive measures and having employees work even when sick.

South Korea was reporting around 500 new cases per day in early March due to a massive outbreak surrounding the southern city of Daegu, before officials managed to stabilize the situation with aggressive tracking and testing.

But the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in the greater capital area, where about half of South Korea's 51 million people live, is now threatening to erase some of the country's hard-won gains. It has also led to second-guessing whether officials were too quick to ease social distancing and reopen schools.

Health authorities and hospital officials on Friday participated in a table-top exercise for sharing hospital capacities between Seoul and nearby cities and ensure swift transports of patients so that a spike of cases in one area doesn't overwhelm its hospital system. 

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Agencies
April 14,2020

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has reprimanded the Imran Khan government for denying food aid to Hindus and Christians in Pakistan amid the coronavirus pandemic and warned that it will trigger an additional crisis due to religious discrimination.

The USCIRF is an independent federal government entity set up by the US Congress to monitor and report on religious freedom in the world.

Pakistan continues to be in the tier one of the USCIRF list of the countries whose record on religious freedom remains abysmal.

In a statement issue on Monday, the USCIRF said it was troubled by the reports of food aid being denied to Hindus and Christians in Pakistan amid pandemic.

Citing one of the examples of religious discrimination, the USCIRF said that in Karachi, the Saylani Welfare International Trust, a non-government organization set up to help the homeless and seasonal workers, has been refusing food aid to Hindus and Christians and providing it only Muslims.

Describing such actions "reprehensible", the USCIRF commissioner Anurima Bhargava said: "As COVID-19 continues to spread, vulnerable communities within Pakistan are fighting hunger and to keep their families safe and healthy. Food aid must not be denied because of one's faith."
One of the USCIRF commissioners, Johnnie Moore warned that if the Khan government continued with such policies, Pakistan would add an additional crisis.

"In a recent address by Prime Minister Khan to the international community, he highlighted that the challenge facing governments in the developing world is to save people from dying of hunger while also trying to halt the spread of COVID-19. This is a monumental task laying before many countries.

"Prime Minister Khan's government has the opportunity to lead the way but they must not leave religious minorities behind. Otherwise, they may add on top of it all one more crisis, created by religious discrimination and inter-communal strife."

The organization which makes foreign policy recommendations to the US President, the Secretary of State, and Congress, urged the Pakistani government to ensure that food aid from distributing organizations is shared equally with Hindus, Christians, and other religions minorities.

Last year, in its annual report, the USCIRF had noted that Hindus and Christians in Pakistan "face continued threats to their security and are subjected to various forms of harassment and social exclusion".

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