Pakistan freed a hardline Islamist leader after removing his name from a terrorism watch list under a deal to end weeks of deadly protests by his followers. Saad Hussain Rizvi, the chief of Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) was released from a jail, a government spokesman said. The release came two weeks after the government agreed to free over 2,000 detained members of the TLP movement, lifted a ban on the group and agreed to let it contest elections. In return, the TLP would shun the politics of violence and withdraw a demand to have France's ambassador expelled over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by a French magazine. The TLP took to the streets in mid-October, kicking off weeks of protests and clashes that killed at least seven policemen and injured scores of others. Earlier, the government had designated the TLP as a terrorist group and arrested Rizvi amid violent protests earlier this year.
Two blasts hit Kabul’s Shia areas
Two explosions hit the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least one person and wounding at least six, including three women, Taliban officials and residents said. There was no confirmation of casualty numbers and one Taliban official said seven people had been killed and nine wounded. A second explosion was also reported in the nearby Karte 3 area, local residents said. A Taliban official said security forces were still gathering information. Images posted on social media showed a car destroyed by flames as well as twisted wreckage. The explosions added to a series of blasts to hit Kabul in recent days, with Shia areas in the west of the city targeted several times. There was no claim of responsibility but Islamic State militants have claimed several attacks on Shia targets including mosques. Mohammad Nabi, a resident of Dashti Barchi, said it appeared that the second explosion had also caused casualties but there were no immediate details.
Tiananmen vigil leader invokes Gandhi
A leading Hong Kong democracy activist facing jail invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaign in court as he gave a defiant speech defending his decision to take part in a banned Tiananmen vigil. Lee Cheuk-yan is one of eight pro-democracy figures on trial for joining a vigil last year which had been banned by Hong Kong police for the first time in 31 years, citing the coronavirus and security fears. Five defendants, including Lee, have pleaded guilty to joining an “unauthorised assembly”. At the sentencing hearing, Lee compared Hong Kong’s democracy movement to India’s struggle for freedom from colonial Britain. “We are all followers of Gandhi’s idea of non-violent struggle, hoping to bring democratic reforms to Hong Kong,” he said, occasionally choking back sobs.
Car rams Xmas parade in US, 5 killed
A speeding SUV plowed into dozens of people, including children, during a Christmas parade in a small Wisconsin city on Sunday, leaving a scene of chaos and carnage in its wake, with at least five people killed and 40 injured. Police chief Dan Thompson told reporters that one person was in custody and a sport utility vehicle had been recovered after the incident in Waukesha, about 32 km west of Milwaukee. The number of dead and injured could change, authorities said. The suspect appeared to be fleeing another incident when the vehicle sped through the parade route. Although the investigation was in its early stages, authorities have found no connection to terrorism, the sources said. The incident also appeared to be unrelated to Friday’s not-guilty verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.
France, Russia in tussle over ‘champagne’
France and Russia have been in a fight over which of the two nations get to call the champagne so, ever since France’s champagne group laid down a new Russian law that forces foreign producers to add a ‘sparkling wine’ reference to their bottles of champagne. Home of the original champagne, France jealously guards its right to use the term and has been in talks with Moscow about a law signed by President Vladimir Putin in July that bars French champagne producers from using the word on their bottles sold in Russia. France’s Trade Minister Franck Riester is “quite optimistic” that a resolution could be found to a dispute with Russia over labeling champagne bottles. In late October, Paris obtained a two-month delay in implementing the rule, which specifically forbids the use of the Russian translation of champagne - ‘Shampanskoe’ - on imported bottles.
US sees Russian 'invasion' of Ukraine
US intelligence officials are warning allies that there is a short window of time to prevent Russia from taking military action in Ukraine, pushing European countries to work with the US to develop a package of economic and military measures to deter Russia, according to US and European officials. Russia has not yet decided what it intends to do with the troops it has amassed near Ukraine, US officials said, but the buildup is being taken seriously and the US is not assuming it is a bluff. Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, travelled to Brussels this week to brief Nato ambassadors about US intelligence on the situation and a possible Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
US teen shooter acquitted of murder
Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal on murder charges opened yet another front in America’s longstanding fight over gun rights: Is it acceptable for a teenager to bring an assault-style rifle to a protest? Conservatives hailed Rittenhouse as a hero for exercising his right to self-defence when he fatally shot two demonstrators and wounded a third who he said attacked him last year at a racial justice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Gun control advocates warned the jury’s verdict could inspire a new wave of armed vigilantism, after Rittenhouse travelled in August 2020 from his Illinois home to Kenosha after protests erupted following the police shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake.
Google signs deal to pay for news from AFP
Alphabet Inc’s Google will begin paying Agence France-Presse for its news content as part of a five-year partnership that marks one of the biggest licensing deals struck by a tech giant under a new French law. News organisations, which have been losing ad revenue to online aggregators such as Google and Facebook, have complained for years about the tech companies using stories in search results without payment. New laws in France and Australia have given publishers greater leverage, leading to a slew of licensing deals around the world collectively worth billions of dollars. The AFP accord follows France enacting a copyright law that creates “neighbouring rights,” requiring big tech companies to open talks with news publishers that want a licensing payment. Google declined to disclose financial terms of the deal, but confirmed it would run for five years. The companies said that they also will collaborate on projects, such as fact checking.
Elephant dies after trunk gets caught in trap
A critically endangered Sumatran baby elephant has died after losing half of its trunk in a poacher’s trap. The one-year-old calf succumbed to a severe infection, two days after it was found by villagers in Aceh Jaya and despite subsequent efforts to save its life by amputating the rest of its injured trunk. “We couldn’t save it because the injury was severe and infected,” Agus Arianto, head of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency, said. Rampant deforestation has reduced the elephants’ habitat and brought them into increasing conflict with humans, while their tusks are prized in the illegal wildlife trade.
Missing Chinese tennis star appears in public
Missing tennis star Peng Shuai reappeared in public on Sunday at a youth tournament in Beijing, according to photos released by the organiser, as the ruling Communist Party tried to quell fears abroad while suppressing information in China about Peng after she accused a senior leader of sexual assault. The post by the China Open on the Weibo social media service made no mention of Peng’s disappearance or her accusation. The three-time Olympian and former Wimbledon champion was shown standing beside a court, waving and signing oversize commemorative tennis balls for children. The ruling party appears to be trying to defuse alarm about Peng without acknowledging her disappearance after she on November 2 accused Zhang Gaoli, a member of the party’s ruling Standing Committee until 2018, of forcing her to have sex.
Biden planning diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
President Joe Biden said he was considering a US diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, in what would be an attempt to show toughness over China’s rights abuses without impacting US athletes. That is “something we are considering,” Biden told reporters while meeting with Canada PM Justin Trudeau, at the White House. The Beijing Olympics takes place next February. Biden’s comments followed a video summit with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week, during which the two leaders said they wanted to ensure stability and prevent accidental conflicts. Biden is under pressure at home to speak out on China’s human rights abuses, especially in the Xinjiang region. China’s foreign ministry brushed off the rights accusations as “inconsistent with the truth and completely groundless”, calling Washington’s claims a “joke in the eyes of Chinese people”.
DR Congo President orders mining licences audit
Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has demanded a ban on issuing and trading mining permits until the country’s mining registry has been audited, a measure aimed at combating fraud within the sector. Tshisekedi told ministers he wanted to end the squandering of mining assets by unnamed political actors and officials involved in the administration of the mining register, which records mining concessions. The move is an escalation of Tshisekedi’s continuing review of deals struck by his predecessor Joseph Kabila, which includes a $6bn “infrastructure-for-minerals” deal with Chinese investors. The DRC is the world’s top producer of cobalt and Africa’s biggest copper producer, but more than 70 per cent of its roughly 100 million people live on less than $1.90 per day, according to the World Bank. Transparency activists have estimated the DRC has lost out on billions of dollars of revenue from mining deals over the past two decades
Pillow fight enters combat sports arena
Pillow fighting is moving out of the bedroom and into the boxing ring when Pillow Fight Championship (PFC) holds its first live, pay-per-view event in Florida on January 29. Steve Williams, the man with the dream of turning childhood horseplay into a professional combat sport, said PFC delivers all the drama of hand-to-hand combat without the gore of mixed martial arts or boxing. “It’s not something where you sit there and laugh and feathers are flying,” Williams, CEO of PFC, said. “It’s hardcore swinging with specialised pillows.” Although the male and female competitors in January’s event mostly hail from the cutthroat worlds of MMA and boxing, kids will still sleep after seeing the bouts. “The only difference between our fights and MMA fights is that nobody gets hurt,” he said. “A lot of people don’t want to see the blood. They want to see good competition, they just don’t want to see the violence.”
China downgrades diplomatic ties with Lithuania
China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania, expressing strong dissatisfaction with the Baltic State for allowing Taiwan to open a de facto embassy there. China views self-ruled and democratically governed Taiwan as its territory with no right to the trappings of a state. Beijing had already expressed anger this summer when Lithuania - which has formal relations with China and not Taiwan - allowed it to open an office in the country using the name Taiwan. China recalled its ambassador in August. Other Taiwan offices in Europe and the US use the name of the city Taipei, avoiding reference to the island. However, the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania finally opened last week.
Sudan military leaders reinstate deposed PM
Sudan’s deposed PM signed a deal with the military that will see him reinstated, almost a month after a military coup put him under house arrest. A key pro-democracy group that has mobilised dozens of protests had dismissed the deal as “a form of betrayal”. The country’s top general, Abdel Fattah Burhan, said in televised statements that Abdalla Hamdok will lead an independent technocratic cabinet until elections can be held. It remains unclear how much power the government would hold. It would still remain under military oversight. It also remains unclear whether any political parties or pro-democracy groups have signed off on the agreement. The deal expects the military to release government officials and politicians arrested since the October 25 coup.
