Top Pak journalist attacked

Wednesday 28th April 2021 06:30 EDT
 

Unidentified gunmen shot a senior Pakistani journalist while he was taking a walk near his house in Islamabad. Absar Alam, who also served as a chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA), the country’s electronic media watchdog, was rushed to a hospital where he was out of danger. Alam confirmed the attack in a video message. “I’ve been hit in my ribs,” he said. “My message to those who did this is that I am not going to be scared by such tactics,” he added. So far, nobody has taken responsibility of the attack.

UAE gives $2bn aid to Pakistan

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to help Pakistan with a $2 billion bailout package, committing “every possible support to Pakistan.” The UAE’s support came during the visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to the Gulf nation. Qureshi thanked UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, stating that UAE’s help “reflected the warm and brotherly ties between the two countries”. “We greatly appreciate the UAE’s continued support and cooperation,” maintained the Pakistan foreign office. Qureshi has also raised the issue of visa restrictions for Pakistanis in his meeting with the Emirati Minister Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Ali Al Sayegh.

78 Taliban militants killed

At least 78 Taliban militants were killed in various operations conducted by Afghan government forces, the Ministry of Defence announced. “Forty-four Taliban militants were also wounded and eight others were arrested as a result of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) operations in Ghazni, Zabul, Herat, Paktika, Balkh, Nimroz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces,” the Ministry said in a statement. The ANDSF also discovered and seized weapons and defused 36 improvised explosive devices and landmines during the raid, Xinhua news agency said. The statement didn’t say if there were any casualties on the side of the Afghan security forces.

Ex-Lanka minister held for aiding Easter bombers

Sri Lankan police arrested a former minister and his brother for allegedly aiding the suicide bombers responsible for the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks in which 258 people, including 11 Indians, were killed. Rishad Bathiudeen, who leads an opposition party in Sri Lanka’s parliament, and his brother Riyaj were arrested for allegedly “aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who committed the Easter Sunday carnage”, said police spokesman Ajith Rohana. He said the brothers have not yet been officially charged but were arrested based on direct evidence, as well as circumstantial and “scientific” evidence. “They have been arrested under the provisions of the prevention of terrorism Act.” Bathiudeen’s lawyer, called the arrests politically motivated.

Chinese defence minister to visit Lanka

Chinese defence minister Gen Wei Fenghe will arrive in Sri Lanka on April 27 for a three-day visit, during which he will hold talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, the government announced. His visit is set to coincide with a ruling by the Supreme Court which is likely to be delivered on the constitutionality of the administrative body of the controversy-hit port city being built by China on reclaimed sea. Multiple petitions have been filed against the proposed controversial legislation on the Colombo Port City, alleging that the $1.4 billion project violated the country’s sovereignty, the Constitution and labour rights. They want the bill to be subject to a referendum and a special two-thirds mandate in parliament.

Couple had 4 nuptials, 3 divorces

In Taiwan, one of the few places in the world to offer marriage leave to couples heading to the altar, a bank employee wed his partner on April 6, 2020. They got divorced days later, on April 16. Then they remarried the following day. Another divorce and a third marriage followed on April 28 and April 29. After a third divorce, on May 11, they got married for the fourth time, on May 12. It was all a plot to take advantage of the island’s time-off policy for couples who get married - eight days of leave - the employer, a bank in Taipei, said in public records. “I’m stunned,” Taipei’s deputy mayor, Huang Shan-shan wrote on Facebook. Chiou Jiunn-yann, a professor specialising in labour law, said: “If there’s no plan to resolve this, there’s no guarantee that there wouldn’t be someone who plays this kind of game with you 365 days a year.”

Manhattan bomber gets 30 years’ jail

A Bangladeshi man convicted of setting off a pipe bomb during rush hour in New York City’s busiest subway station, Times Square, was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison. Akayed Ullah, 31, of Brooklyn had claimed he wanted to kill only himself and was not acting on behalf of Islamic State when he detonated his homemade bomb on December 11, 2017. US circuit Judge Richard Sullivan, who imposed the sentence, called the attack a “truly barbaric and heinous crime”. No one died and four people were injured in the explosion, which caused the temporary closure of the station and the adjacent Port Authority Bus Terminal. Ullah received burns in the attack.

US House OKs bill to make 51st state

The US House of Representatives narrowly voted, for the second time in less than a year, to make the District of Columbia the 51st state, sending it to the Senate where it faces stiff Republican opposition. By a vote of 216-208, the Democratic-controlled House approved the initiative with no Republican support. As a state, it likely would elect two Democratic senators, potentially altering the balance of power in the Senate, which now has 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Democrats, who have been advocating statehood for the capital of the US for decades, hope to take advantage of November’s election of President Biden as well as control of the Senate and House to admit a new state for the first time since 1959, the year Alaska and Hawaii joined the union.

China censors article by ex-PM

Chinese internet firms blocked users from sharing an article by former Premier Wen Jiabao in tribute to his late mother, censoring a senior member of the ruling Communist Party, possibly because he spoke out of line. The article includes details of Wen’s mother’s struggle during the second Sino-Japanese War and the political purges of the Cultural Revolution. “In my mind, China should be a country full of fairness and justice, always with a respect for the will of the people, humanity, and human nature,” said Wen’s article, which did not directly discuss China’s current political environment.

Over 100 immigrants drowned

More than 100 illegal immigrants drowned when their boat capsized off Libyan coast, Eugenio Ambrosi, chief of staff of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said. SOS Mediterranee, which operates the rescue vessel Ocean Viking, said that the wreck of a rubber boat, which was initially carrying more than 130 people, was spotted in the Mediterranean Sea northeast of the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The aid vessel did not find any survivors, but could see at least ten bodies near the wreck, the group added in a statement. “Reports of at least 100 lives lost in the Central Mediterranean today,” Ambrosi tweeted.

Malawian minister axed

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera sacked his cabinet member for misappropriating Covid-19 relief funds worth around Ugx3 million. Ken Kandodo, the Minister for Labour was fired after he was implicated for diverting US $800 Covid-19 relief funds to pay for his travel to South Africa. The $800 scandal was part of a wider probe into the embezzlement of millions of dollars by the Southern African semi desert state. “Even though the minister has since returned the money, his usage of the funds means that the money was unavailable for its intended purpose when it was needed most,” Chakwera said in an address.

Lesotho firm licence for medical cannabis

A company in Lesotho has become the first in Africa to receive a licence to sell medical cannabis to the EU. The country’s top medical cannabis producer, MG Health, announced it had met the EU’s good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards, allowing it to export cannabis flower, oil and extracts as an active pharmaceutical ingredient. It will export its first batch to Germany later this year. The GMP guidelines are the minimum requirements a manufacturer or producer must meet to ensure products are safe and of a consistent high quality. They are used to control the licensing for sale of food and pharmaceutical and medical products.

More tax imposed on Bobi Wine’s vehicle

The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has asked former opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, to pay Ush337 million (about $93,420) in taxes for his bullet-proof vehicle. The taxman said it reassessed the armoured car which had initially attracted less tax having been considered as an ordinary motor. “Following the re-examination of your client’s motor vehicle, Toyota Land Cruiser V8 Reg. No. UBJ 667 F, it was confirmed that the unit was armoured. The details of ballistic protection were confirmed as 90 mm for the window upper plate glass and 6 mm for the bottom hull,” reads in part URA’s letter to Bobi Wine’s lawyers. The letter further reads: “It was also established that the declaration made did bare falsehoods of clearing it as a normal vehicle yet it was armoured contrary to Sections 203 of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004.”


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