A statue of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah has been destroyed in a bomb attack by the Baloch militants disguised as tourists in the coastal city of Gwadar in Balochistan province. The statue, which was installed in June at Marine Drive - considered a safe zone - was blown up by explosives placed beneath the statue. Babgar Baloch, a spokesman for the banned militant organisation Baloch Republican Army, claimed responsibility for the blast. The matter was being investigated at the highest level, Gwadar deputy commissioner Major (retd) Abdul Kabir Khan was quoted as saying. According to him, no arrest has been made so far but the investigation will be completed in a day or two. “The demolition of Quaid-e-Azam’s statue in #Gwadar is an attack on Ideology of Pakistan. I request authorities to punish the perpetrators...,” Balochistan Senator Sarfraz Bugti tweeted.
4 Pak soldiers killed in blast
At least four security personnel were killed and two others injured in a blast targeting Pakistan’s paramilitary forces in the country’s restive Balochistan province, an official said. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack. A vehicle of the Frontier Corps (FC) was attacked in the Khosat area of Harnai district on Saturday, according to Dawn newspaper. The FC soldiers were patrolling when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, resulting in the death of four soldiers and injuries to two officers. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. Balochistan has been witnessing a spate of low-level violence for years. On Friday, two security personnel were killed in an attack in Awaran district.
NY planning to replace unvaccinated health staff
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering employing the National Guard and out-of -state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages with tens of thousands of workers unlikely to meet a deadline for mandated Covid-19 vaccination. The plan, outlined in a statement from Hochul on Saturday, would allow her to declare a state of emergency to increase the supply of healthcare workers to include licensed professionals from other states and countries as well as retired nurses. Hochul said the state was also looking at using National Guard officers with medical training to keep hospitals and other medical facilities adequately staffed. Some 16% of the state’s 450,000 hospital staff, or roughly 70,000 workers, have not been fully vaccinated, the governor’s office said.
China declares all crypto transactions illegal
China’s most powerful regulators intensified the country’s crackdown on cryptocurrency with a blanket ban on all crypto transactions and mining, hitting bitcoin and other major coins and pressuring crypto and blockchain related stocks. Ten agencies, including the central bank as well as banking, securities and foreign exchange regulators, vowed to work together to root out “illegal” cryptocurrency activity, the first time the Beijing-based agencies have joined forces to explicitly ban all cryptocurrency related activity. China in May banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and issued similar bans in 2013 and 2017.
Huawei exec returns as China releases 2 Canadians
Huawei chief financial officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou arrived in China after more than 1,000 days under house arrest in Canada following a deal with US prosecutors to end a fraud case against her. Two Canadians detained by Chinese authorities days after Meng’s arrest have also been released and they arrived in Calgary, where Canadian PM Justin Trudeau received them, local media reported. Meng, the daughter of Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei, was allowed to go home after reaching the deal to end the fraud case. That resulted in the scrapping of her US extradition hearing in a Vancouver court the same day. The years-long extradition drama has been a central source of discord between Beijing and Washington, with Chinese officials signalling that the case needed to be dropped to help to end a diplomatic stalemate. Chinese state media welcomed Meng back to the “motherland.”
Stars unite for global climate, vax gigs
Some of the biggest names in pop are uniting for a round- the- world event to raise awareness on climate change, vaccine equality and famine. Concerts taking place in London, Lagos, Rio, Sydney, Mumbai and more will be broadcast globally for the event, scheduled to coincide with the UNGA this week. The star-studded line-up will also push for action at the G20 next month and COP26 climate meeting in November. Eilish, Coldplay and Jennifer Lopez will perform in New York City. Stevie Wonder will play in Los Angeles, while Ed Sheeran will headline in Paris alongside Elton John. And there will be pre-recorded performances from BTS in South Korea and Andrea Bocelli in Tuscany. NGO Global Citizen said it wants one billion trees planted, one billion vaccines delivered to the poorest countries and meals for 41 million people on the brink of famine.
12-year-old wins case against his dad
A Dutch court has ruled that a12-year-old boy had the right to get a Covid jab to visit his dying grandmother despite his vaccine-sceptic dad’s objections. In one of the first cases of its kind in the Netherlands, the unnamed boy in the city of Groningen argued that getting the vaccine would reduce his chances of passing on an infection to her. Children aged 12 to 17 in the Netherlands can choose to be vaccinated but need permission from both parents. In this case, the boy’s parents are divorced and his mother agreed. District court Judge Bart Tromp granted permission for the boy to be vaccinated due to the “interests involved in vaccination, in particular the interest of this minor”. He ordered that the boy be given the shot “shortly” because his interests were more important than any possible appeal by the father’s lawyers. Court papers said the boy’s dad, who does not believe in vaccines or testing for Covid, refused to allow him to get a jab.
Brazil President eats pizza on NYC streets
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was spotted eating pizza on the streets of New York city. He ate it on the sidewalk as he was not permitted inside the restaurant because he has not been vaccinated yet. After a long period of lockdown, restaurants and eateries are opening up in the post-Covid era. However, dining out is not the same as there are many more restrictions and guidelines for customers as well as the restaurant staff. In the US, for instance, some eateries are demanding some proof of at least one dose of the vaccine and prohibiting entry for unvaccinated. Brazil President and his ministers were recently in New York City, and they became one of the prominent visitors to be denied entry to a local restaurant.
El Salvador prez calls himself a ‘dictator’
El Salvador’s bitcoin-pushing president apparently changed his Twitter profile description to “dictator,” in what might be an ironic comment on last week’s protests against him. The office of President Nayib Bukele did not respond to requests for comment on the change, but there was no clear sign the president’s account had been hacked. The price and potential of the cryptocurrency appears to fascinate Bukele, and he made bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador, the first country to do so. Not everyone was charmed by the tactic. “He is trying to ridicule the feelings of the public or the opposition,” said lawyer Eduardo Escobar, of Citizen’s Action, a civic group devoted to government accountability. Last week, thousands marched against Bukele, who protesters say has concentrated too much power.
US special envoy to Haiti quits over migrant issue
The US special envoy to Haiti dramatically resigned over deportations of hundreds of migrants to the crisis-engulfed nation from a camp on the US-Mexican border in recent days. Daniel Foote, a career diplomat, said conditions in Haiti were so bad that US officials were confined to secure compounds. He said the “collapsed state” was unable to support the infusion of returning migrants. “I will not be associated with the US’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants,” Foote said in a letter addressed to secretary of state Antony Blinken. The US has returned 1,401 migrants from the camp to Haiti and taken another 3,206 people into custody, the department of homeland security has said. Haiti has gone through profound instability in recent weeks, including a presidential assassination, gang violence and an earthquake. Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN refugee agency, warned that US expulsions to Haiti might violate international law.
Russian hacking bid ahead of German vote flayed
The European Union condemned alleged Russian cyber attacks that have targeted Germany in the run up to this weekend’s election for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s successor. “Some EU Member States have observed malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as ‘Ghostwriter’, and associated these with the Russian state,” foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “Such activities are unacceptable as they seek to threaten our integrity and security, democratic values and principles and the core functioning of our democracies.” Borrell’s statement said the EU and its member states “strongly denounce these malicious cyber activities, which all involved must put to an end immediately”.
Phones of French ministers infected by Pegasus
The mobile phones of at least five French ministers and a diplomatic advisor to President Emmanuel Macron were infected by the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, sources said, confirming a report by the Mediapart investigative website. French security services detected the makware while inspecting the phones, with the intrusions believed to have taken place in 2019 and 2020, according to the report from Mediapart. Pegasus, made by the Israeli firm NSO Group, can switch on a phone’s camera or mic and harvest its data, and was at the centre of a storm in July after a list of about 50,000 potential surveillance targets worldwide was leaked to media.
N Korea says open to summit with South
North Korea is willing to consider another inter-Korean summit if mutual respect between the rivals can be assured, state news agency KCNA reported, citing Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The comment comes a day after North Korea urged US and South Korea to abandon what it called their hostile policy towards it before formal talks can be held on ending the 1950-53 Korean War. The war ended with an armistice, leaving US-led UN forces technically still at war with North Korea. “I felt the atmosphere of the South Korean public desiring to recover the inter-Korean relations is strong,” Kim said. “We, too, have the same desire.”
Group behind HK’s Tiananmen vigil disbands
A Hong Kong group that organises an annual vigil on June 4 to remember protesters killed in China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown will disband, it said, after facing national security charges. The democracy group is the latest of dozens of civil society bodies to fold over the past year, from a key trade union grouping to the largest teachers’ union, after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in the city. “I believe Hong Kong people, no matter their capacity, will continue to commemorate June 4 as before,” Richard Tsoi, the secretary of the group, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, said. Authorities froze HK$2.2 million ($283,000) of the group’s assets this month after it was charged with inciting subversion under the new law.
Britney’s dad hired security firm to monitor her calls, texts
Britney Spears’ father and the security firm he hired to protect her ran an intense surveillance apparatus that monitored her communications and secretly captured audio recordings from her bedroom, including her interactions and conversations with her boyfriend and children, according to a former employee of the security firm. Alex Vlasov, the employee, supported his claims with emails, text messages and audio recordings he was privy to in his nine years as an executive assistant and operations and cybersecurity manager for Black Box, the security firm. He came forward for a new documentary, “Controlling Britney Spears,” which was released recently. Recording conversations in a private place and mirroring text messages without the consent of both parties can be a violation of the law. It is unclear if the court overseeing Spears’ conservatorship was aware of or had approved the surveillance.
Chinese label pulls clothing line over ‘inappropriate’ signs
A Chinese fashion label has pulled a children’s clothing line and apologised after consumer complaints surfaced about prints that contained references to racial violence and suggestive phrases including “let me touch you”. The designs by JNBY, microblogging platform Weibo, prompted outrage among users who said the designs were unsuitable for youngsters. One photo showed an item with the English words: “The whole place is full of Indians. I will take this gun and blow them to pieces,” while another had cartoons of a boy being shot with arrows. “What is JNBY trying to express with such prints?” one social media user wrote. “I didn’t expect their children’s line to be so sinister!” JNBY apologised and said they have pulled all the related products, the brand said. However, many users were unmoved by JNBY’s expression of remorse. “This is not a problem that can be solved with an apology,” one argued.
