UN demands action after Sri Lanka anti-Muslim riot

June 17, 2014

Alutgama, Jun 17: Sri Lanka slapped an indefinite curfew in a popular tourist region on Monday after rioting Buddhist mobs killed three Muslims in a surge of religious violence that triggered international concern.

Riot-victim grievesLocal community leaders accused authorities of doing little to prevent Sunday night's carnage that made hundreds of Muslims homeless after attacks on their homes, shops, factories, mosques and even a nursery.

The most senior Muslim member of President Mahinda Rajapakse's government threatened to resign at the decision to allow militant Buddhists to rally in the flashpoint region.

"Three deaths have occurred and 78 people have been seriously wounded in the mob attacks... Places of Muslim religious worship have also been attacked with total impunity," Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said as he toured the damage in the neighbouring towns of Alutgama and Beruwala.

"The government allowed the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) to hold their gathering and therefore they must take responsibility for what has happened," he said, referring to a hardline outfit better known as the Buddhist Force.

Hakeem told reporters that he was now under pressure from his own supporters to quit the government to protest the failure to prevent the attacks, the latest in a series of violent incidents involving the BBS.

The UN human rights chief Navi Pillay expressed concern that the religious riots could spread to other areas of Sri Lanka and demanded that Colombo immediately bring the perpetrators of Sunday's attacks to justice.

"The government must urgently do everything it can to arrest this violence, curb the incitement and hate speech which is driving it, and protect all religious minorities," Pillay said in a statement issued in Geneva.

"I am very concerned this violence could spread to Muslim communities in other parts of the country," she added.

The United States, which has led international condemnation of Sri Lanka's human rights record, had also urged Colombo to end the violence.

The unrest erupted on Sunday night when followers of the BBS staged a protest over a recent road rage incident in the area.

After stones were allegedly thrown at them, the BBS supporters then tore through the two towns, attacking people on the street and setting fire to property and vehicles.

Local residents said police did little to protect them when the Buddhist mobs started their onslaught around sundown in the mainly Muslim towns which are around 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the capital Colombo.

Police fired teargas and imposed a night-time curfew but the violence went on for several hours, according to residents.

"We pleaded with the police to come and stop the mob attacking our houses but the police did nothing," said Mujahedeen, a resident of Alutgama's Milton Road where around a dozen buildings were set on fire.

Police chief NK Illangakoon said the situation was "improving" although the curfew would remain overnight Monday.

He said eight people had been arrested in connection with the riots, but added that an unspecified number of them had already been freed on bail.

President urges 'restraint'

Both towns are popular beach resorts frequented by international tourists, but there were no reports of any foreigners or hotels being caught up in the violence.

However, hotels told their guests to remain indoors while Western embassies advised their nationals to avoid travelling to the region.

Rajapakse, currently in Bolivia, said in a statement that he would not allow "anyone to take the law into their own hands" and urged "restraint".

The attacks are the latest in a series of religious clashes to hit the island following unrest in January and also last year when Buddhist mobs attacked a mosque in the capital Colombo.

BBS leader, Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, is currently on bail after being arrested in May on a charge of insulting the Quran.

Sri Lanka, facing an international probe of its war record in crushing separatists Tamil rebels in may 2009, is also criticised for its alleged failure to protect minority religious groups.

Muslims make up about 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 20 million population.

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UN demands action after Sri Lanka anti-Muslim riot

Alutgama, Jun 17: Sri Lanka slapped an indefinite curfew in a popular tourist region on Monday after rioting Buddhist mobs killed three Muslims in a surge of religious violence that triggered international concern.

Local community leaders accused authorities of doing little to prevent Sunday night's carnage that made hundreds of Muslims homeless after attacks on their homes, shops, factories, mosques and even a nursery.

The most senior Muslim member of President Mahinda Rajapakse's government threatened to resign at the decision to allow militant Buddhists to rally in the flashpoint region.

"Three deaths have occurred and 78 people have been seriously wounded in the mob attacks... Places of Muslim religious worship have also been attacked with total impunity," Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said as he toured the damage in the neighbouring towns of Alutgama and Beruwala.

"The government allowed the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) to hold their gathering and therefore they must take responsibility for what has happened," he said, referring to a hardline outfit better known as the Buddhist Force.

Hakeem told reporters that he was now under pressure from his own supporters to quit the government to protest the failure to prevent the attacks, the latest in a series of violent incidents involving the BBS.

The UN human rights chief Navi Pillay expressed concern that the religious riots could spread to other areas of Sri Lanka and demanded that Colombo immediately bring the perpetrators of Sunday's attacks to justice.

"The government must urgently do everything it can to arrest this violence, curb the incitement and hate speech which is driving it, and protect all religious minorities," Pillay said in a statement issued in Geneva.

"I am very concerned this violence could spread to Muslim communities in other parts of the country," she added.

The United States, which has led international condemnation of Sri Lanka's human rights record, had also urged Colombo to end the violence.

The unrest erupted on Sunday night when followers of the BBS staged a protest over a recent road rage incident in the area.

After stones were allegedly thrown at them, the BBS supporters then tore through the two towns, attacking people on the street and setting fire to property and vehicles.

Local residents said police did little to protect them when the Buddhist mobs started their onslaught around sundown in the mainly Muslim towns which are around 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the capital Colombo.

Police fired teargas and imposed a night-time curfew but the violence went on for several hours, according to residents.

"We pleaded with the police to come and stop the mob attacking our houses but the police did nothing," said Mujahedeen, a resident of Alutgama's Milton Road where around a dozen buildings were set on fire.

Police chief NK Illangakoon said the situation was "improving" although the curfew would remain overnight Monday.

He said eight people had been arrested in connection with the riots, but added that an unspecified number of them had already been freed on bail.

President urges 'restraint'

Both towns are popular beach resorts frequented by international tourists, but there were no reports of any foreigners or hotels being caught up in the violence.

However, hotels told their guests to remain indoors while Western embassies advised their nationals to avoid travelling to the region.

Rajapakse, currently in Bolivia, said in a statement that he would not allow "anyone to take the law into their own hands" and urged "restraint".

The attacks are the latest in a series of religious clashes to hit the island following unrest in January and also last year when Buddhist mobs attacked a mosque in the capital Colombo.

BBS leader, Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, is currently on bail after being arrested in May on a charge of insulting the Quran.

Sri Lanka, facing an international probe of its war record in crushing separatists Tamil rebels in may 2009, is also criticised for its alleged failure to protect minority religious groups.

Muslims make up about 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 20 million population.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Moscow, Aug 7: Russia will register its first vaccine against the coronavirus on August 12, Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev said on Friday.

The vaccine has been developed jointly by the Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry.

"The vaccine developed by the Gamaleya centre will be registered on August 12. At the moment, the last, third, stage is underway. The trials are extremely important. We have to understand that the vaccine must be safe. Medical professionals and senior citizens will be the first to get vaccinated," Gridnev told reporters at the opening of a cancer centre building in the city of Ufa.

According to the minister, the effectiveness of the vaccine will be judged when the population immunity has formed.

Clinical trials of the vaccine began on June 18 and included 38 volunteers. All of the participants developed immunity. 

The first group was discharged on July 15 and the second group on July 20.

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News Network
May 12,2020

May 12: Gunmen stormed a hospital on Tuesday in an ongoing attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, as a suicide blast killed 15 people at a funeral in the country's restive east.

Special forces rescued 80 people including mothers and babies from the Kabul hospital after three gunmen launched a morning assault, killing at least four people, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Heavily armed forces were seen carrying babies wrapped in blankets away from the scene, as the clearance operation continued.

The facility, which has a large maternity ward, is located in the west of the city, home to the capital's minority Shiite Hazara community -- a frequent target of Sunni militants from the Islamic State group.

The flare-up in violence comes as Afghanistan grapples with myriad crises including a rise in militant operations across the country and a surge in coronavirus infections.

A paediatrician who fled the hospital told AFP he heard a loud explosion at the entrance of the building.

"The hospital was full of patients and doctors, there was total panic inside," he said, asking not to be named.

The maternity services at the hospital are supported by humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

"Hospitals and health workers must not be attacked. We call on all sides to stop attacking hospitals and health workers," said deputy health minister in the city, Waheed Majroh.

Around an hour later, a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people at the funeral of a local police commander in the country's eastern Nangarhar province, according to provincial spokesman Ataullah Khogyani.

The attacker detonated his explosives in the middle of the ceremony.

Zaher Adel, spokesman for the government hospital in Jalalabad, earlier said 12 bodies had arrived from the blast site and more than 50 people were being treated for injuries.

Amir Mohammad, who was wounded in the blast, said thousands of people had gathered for the funeral, an event which often draws huge crowds in Afghanistan.

The violence comes just a day after four roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Kabul, wounding four civilians including a child.

The bombings were later claimed by the Islamic State group, according to the SITE intelligence group.

They were just the latest in a string of IS attacks on the capital.

In March, at least 25 people were killed by a gunman at a Sikh temple in Kabul, which was later claimed by the group.

IS is also responsible for an infamous attack in March 2017 on one of the country's largest hospitals, when gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Kabul building and killed dozens.

In recent months, the jihadist group has suffered mounting setbacks after being hunted by US and Afghan forces as well as Taliban offensives targeting their fighters, but it still retains the ability to launch major assaults on urban centres.

The Taliban have largely refrained from launching large attacks on Afghan cities since February when they signed a landmark withdrawal deal with the US meant to pave the way for peace talks with the Kabul government.

Under the agreement, the Taliban promised not to target forces from the US-led coalition, but made no such pledge toward Afghan troops and have stepped up attacks in the provinces.

The Taliban have denied involvement in both of Tuesday's attacks.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jul 28: Malaysia's ex-leader Najib Razak was found guilty Tuesday in his first trial over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, two years after the fraud contributed to the downfall of his long-ruling government.

The former prime minister could now face decades in jail after being convicted on all charges in the case related to the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Billions of dollars were stolen from the investment vehicle and spent on everything from high-end real estate to pricey art, while investment bank Goldman Sachs also became embroiled in the scandal.

Anger at the looting played a large part in the shock loss of Najib's long-ruling coalition in elections in 2018, and he was arrested and hit with dozens of charges following his defeat.

The verdict was a test of Malaysia's rule of law. It comes about five months after Najib's scandal-plagued party returned to power as part of a coalition, development observers had feared could affect the outcome of the case.

About 16 months after it began, the Kuala Lumpur High Court delivered the verdict in Najib's first trial, which centred on the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($9.9 million) from a former 1MDB unit, SRC International, into his accounts.

Najib had vehemently denied wrongdoing.

But Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali took apart all the arguments put forward by his defence, and found him guilty on the seven charges he faced.

"In conclusion, after considering all the evidence in this trial, I find the prosecution has successfully proven the case," the judge told the court.

The charges were one of abuse of power, three of criminal breach of trust and three of money-laundering.

The counts of abuse of power and criminal breach of trust are punishable by up to 20 years in jail each, while the money-laundering charges are punishable by up to 15 years each.

Sentencing was not handed down straight away. The 67-year-old will likely appeal and he may not be sent to jail immediately. If his conviction is upheld, he will also be barred from political office for several years.

Najib had insisted he was ignorant of the transactions.

The defence team portrayed Najib as a victim and instead sought to paint financier Low Taek Jho, a key figure in the scandal who has been charged in the US and Malaysia, as the mastermind.

Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, maintains his innocence.

Prosecutors insisted Najib was in control of the 1MDB unit, SRC International.

The return of Najib's party to power as part of a coalition in March followed the collapse of Mahathir Mohamad's reformist administration.

Since then, 1MDB-linked charges were unexpectedly dropped against the ex-leader's stepson Riza Aziz, a producer of Hollywood movie "The Wolf of Wall Street", in exchange for him agreeing to return assets to Malaysia.

Prosecutors also dropped dozens of charges against Najib ally Musa Aman, the former leader of Sabah state.

The amounts involved in Najib's first case are small compared to those in his second and most significant trial, which centres on allegations he illicitly obtained more than $500 million.

Malaysia had charged Goldman Sachs and some current and former staff, claiming large amounts were stolen when the bank arranged bond issues for 1MDB.

But the two sides agreed to a $3.9 billion settlement last week in exchange for charges being dropped.

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