NEW DELHI: A human rights group on Friday expressed concern over rising brutal attacks in India by self-appointed “cow protectors” against Muslims and lower castes over rumors that they sold, bought or killed cows for beef.
Human Rights Watch said Indian authorities should promptly investigate the attacks and prosecute those responsible or face allegations of complicity. Many critics allege the vigilantes are linked to extremist Hindu groups affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The police, too often, have filed complaints against the assault victims, their relatives, and associates under laws banning cow slaughter,” the group said.
Hindus, who form 80 percent of India’s 1.3 billion population, consider cows to be sacred and for many eating beef is taboo. In many Indian states, the slaughtering of cows and selling of beef is either restricted or banned
Human Rights Watch said that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came to power in May 2014, at least 10 Muslims have been killed in mob attacks in seven separate incidents of mob violence related to allegations over cows.
Modi has condemned the attacks and his party, which also runs various state governments, has promised swift action against the offenders, but the attacks continue.
Vigilante groups have become active in small towns and cities across India. Lower castes usually carry out undesirable tasks such as skinning dead animals, and many work in the leather industry.
“Self-appointed ‘cow protectors’ driven by irresponsible populism are killing people and terrorizing minority communities,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Human rights group demands India prosecute attacks over cows
Human rights group demands India prosecute attacks over cows
Riyadh Travel Fair spotlights diverse tourism offerings
- Egypt, Georgia, Turkiye and more attract Saudi tourists
- The fair serves as a platform for tourism products, services and investments, attracting leading global companies in the field
RIYADH: Top tourism companies showcased their destinations to the Saudi market at the Riyadh Travel Fair, which ended on Wednesday.
Held from May 27-29 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, the event drew top travel and tourism firms from Saudi Arabia, the GCC and wider world.
The fair serves as a platform for tourism products, services and investments, attracting leading global companies in the field.
This year, Riyadh welcomed 250 exhibitors from 23 countries, including 13 tourism boards. New exhibitors included Georgia, South Korea, Egypt, Russia, and the cities of Almaty, Sarajevo and St. Petersburg.
Rusudan Kokoladze, a senior specialist from Georgia’s tourism promotion office, told Arab News: “This is the first time we are participating in the fair, and what we are looking for is to expand our relations with Saudi Arabia and increase the number of Saudi tourists to Georgia, one of the target countries for Saudis who want to see the picturesque beauty and coastline of the Black Sea.
“There is a direct flight to Batumi, so it’s really easy, accessible and safe to travel. It has UNESCO World Heritage sites, national parks and attractive greenery, which makes it a popular tourist destination,” she added.
Elene Gogelia, chief coordinator of the brand development department at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, told Arab News: “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we had 10,000 visitors per year from Saudi Arabia. Of course, the response from year to year has been very positive with an increase in the number of tourists.
“After the pandemic, this is the first year (2024) when in the first quarter alone we have hosted 6,000 Saudi travelers. This is an increase of 28 percent compared to the same time last year.”
She added that Saudi travelers are interested in the Black Sea coast resorts as well as winter ski resorts.
Mohamed El-Sherbeiny, general manager of the International Tourism Office at the Egyptian Tourism Authority, told Arab News: “We are excited to be here; Saudi Arabia is the third biggest market for Egypt. Last year, we received almost 1 million tourists from the Kingdom. We aim to continue the growth rate this year as well, reaching 20 percent more than last year.
“We believe we could achieve it because there is great interest from Saudi travelers to explore more of the northern coast in Egypt during the summer, as it is a wonderful place to relax.”
He said that Riyadh is now a hub for tourists, and “to showcase Egypt at the RTF is interesting.”
Faruk Caluk, senior adviser for tourism development at Visit Sarajevo, told Arab News: “Saudi Arabia is a very important market for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a lot of Saudi visitors come to our country. Earlier, we had visa issues, but now it’s solved and open for Saudi citizens, so we expect more visitors this year, and the RTF is a good opportunity.”
The Turkiye tourism and travel groups hosted a large delegation of hospitality partners at the fair. Additionally, the lead actors from popular Turkish series “Kurulus Osman” made an appearance — Orhan (Emre Bey), Cerkutay (Cagri Sensoy), and Holofira (Ecem Sena Bayir), as well as Gunkut Alp (Hakan Serim) from “Dirilis: Ertugrul.” The stars interacted with fans, sharing details about their work.
The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation also took part in the fair. With 17 participants representing nine companies, Visit Maldives showcased the country as a premier travel destination to the Saudi market.
Trump’s Arab-American supporters to launch committee, advert undermining Biden
- Arab News gets exclusive look at #YallaTrump2024 campaign
- Graphic video targets Biden’s support of Israel’s war on Gaza
Chicago, US: Arab Americans who support Donald Trump’s reelection have set up a new political action committee to strengthen public “understanding” of why he is a better choice than President Joe Biden, and will broadcast a video advertisement claiming the latter has betrayed the community, Arab News has learned exclusively.
The new body, named Arab Americans for a Better America or ABE-PAC, was formed this week following a series of meetings Trump supporters held with community leaders in several cities.
The first meeting was held in Troy, Michigan on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, featuring several speakers including Massad Boulos and his son Michael who is married to Trump’s daughter, Tiffany.
It was co-organized by Bishara Bahbah, the national chairperson of Arab Americans for Trump, an independent organization that is separate from the official Trump campaign. A keynote speaker at the meetings is Trump’s former director of National Intelligence, Richard Grenell.
“A new Republican Arab-American political action committee has been formed to support conservative causes and Trump’s reelection,” said Oubai Shahbandar who is coordinating the cross-country meetings between the former president’s supporters and Arab voters.
“It’s called ABE-PAC and we will announce it later this week with a hard-hitting, inaugural video ad that we will be distributing throughout the Arab-American community.”
The new advertisement slams Biden for his “broken promises” and includes an array of images that is meant to depict his support and funding of Israel’s military assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
It features Biden saying: “Who cares about the Arab population.” The two-minute video has graphic images of the carnage in Gaza including the recent bombing of a refugee camp in Rafah that killed many Palestinian women and children.
The advertisement also features references to the growing #AbandonBiden movement which has urged Arab and Muslim voters to reject the US president in key Democratic primary elections and “swing states” where he barely defeated Trump in the 2020 election.
Arab News was given an exclusive look at the campaign video which is built on the slogan #YallaTrump2024 and funded by Republican and conservative Arab Americans from across the US.
Biden and Trump, who won their party election primaries in July and August respectively, will likely face-off in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Voters have expressed skepticism about both candidates, with many Americans saying they are not enthusiastic about their choices.
An IPSOS survey in May revealed that the main issue landscape remains mixed, but any future developments in the war in Gaza are expected to push the needle one way or another.
‘Missing’ poet in police custody, Pakistan attorney general says in case spotlighting enforced disappearances
- Ahmed Shah Farhad went “missing” from Islamabad residence on May 14 following social media posts critical of army
- His family has accused ISI spy agency of being behind his kidnapping, army says it does not suppress critical voices
ISLAMABAD: A Kashmiri poet and journalist who was reported “missing” by his wife earlier this month is in the custody of police in the Azad Kashmir region, Attorney-General Mansoor Usman Awan told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday.
Ahmed Shah Farhad went missing from his Islamabad residence on May 14, prompting his wife to accuse Pakistan’s top spy agency, the military-backed Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of abducting him and filing a petition with the IHC for her husband to be recovered.
The army has not commented on the development, but it has repeatedly said in the past it does not suppress critical voices. Before his abduction, Farhad had criticized Pakistan’s powerful military in social media posts regarding unprecedented protests held in Azad Kashmir earlier this month.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Duggal and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar appeared before the court to present the state’s case.
“AGP Awan informed the court that Shah was in police custody and presented the police report to the court,” the English-language newspaper Dawn reported on comments that were widely reported in Pakistani media.
Farhad’s case has once more put a spotlight on enforced disappearances in Pakistan in which families say people picked up by security forces often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani security agencies deny involvement in such disappearances.
A complaint filed by the police at the Dhirkot Police Station in Azad Kashmir and seen by Arab News said Farhad was arrested by police on Wednesday morning as he tried to leave for his ancestral village in Kashmir from Islamabad.
The complaint said police stopped Farhad’s car at 07:00 a.m. near Kohala bridge in Azad Kashmir to ask for identification following which he misbehaved with police officers and abused them. Farhad was subsequently arrested for interfering in the government’s affairs under section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the complaint said, a provision in law that deals with intentionally hampering, misleading, jeopardizing or defeating an investigation, inquiry or prosecution.
Rights organizations have frequently accused Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies of illegally detaining and torturing dissenters without any explanation or following due process of law. The military and intelligence agencies deny involvement in such acts.
Egypt to host Sudan peace conference next month
- The ministry said it was part of Egypt’s “unremitting efforts and endeavors” to put an end to the ongoing war in Sudan
- The conference will be held in the presence of relevant regional and international partners
CAIRO: Egypt will next month host representatives of Sudan’s civil and political groups in a bid to bring peace and stability to the country, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.
The offer to hold the event stemmed from the belief that the “current conflict in Sudan is basically a Sudanese issue and that any future political process should include all national stakeholders on the Sudanese scene, and within the framework of respecting the principles of Sudan’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, non-interference in its internal affairs, and preserving the state and its institutions,” the ministry said.
The conference will be held in the presence of relevant regional and international partners and seek to achieve consensus among Sudanese forces on ways to build a comprehensive and lasting peace.
The ministry said it was part of Egypt’s “unremitting efforts and endeavors” to put an end to the ongoing war in Sudan and within a framework of cooperation and integration with the efforts of regional and international partners, especially Sudan’s neighboring countries, the parties to the Jeddah talks, the UN, African Union, Arab League and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an eight-country trade bloc in Africa.
Egypt looked forward to the effective participation of all and concerted efforts to ensure the conference succeeded in achieving the aspirations of the Sudanese people, it said.
Nearly 3 out of 10 Afghan children face emergency levels of hunger in 2024— NGO
- Estimated 2.9 million Afghan children under five years of age to suffer acute malnutrition in 2024, says Save The Children
- Afghanistan reels from immediate impacts of flood, long-term effects of drought and return of refugees from Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: About 6.5 million children in Afghanistan were forecast to experience crisis levels of hunger in 2024, a nongovernmental organization said.
Nearly three out of 10 Afghan children will face crisis or emergency levels of hunger this year as the country feels the immediate impacts of floods, the long-term effects of drought, and the return of Afghans from neighboring Pakistan and Iran, according to a report released late Tuesday by Save The Children.
New figures from global hunger monitoring body Integrated Food Security Phase Classification forecast that 28 percent of Afghanistan’s population, about 12.4 million people, will face acute food insecurity before October. Of those, nearly 2.4 million are predicted to experience emergency levels of hunger, which is one level above famine, according to Save the Children.
The figures show a slight improvement from the last report, released in October 2023, but underline the continuing need for assistance, with poverty affecting half of the population.
Torrential rain and flash floods hit northern Afghanistan in May, killing more than 400 people. Thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged and farmland was turned into mud.
Save the Children is operating a “clinic on wheels” in Baghlan province, which was hit the worst by floods, as part of its emergency response program. The organization added that an estimated 2.9 million children under the age of 5 are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2024.
Arshad Malik, country director for Save the Children in Afghanistan, said that the NGO has treated more than 7,000 children for severe or acute malnutrition so far this year.
“Those numbers are a sign of the massive need for continuing support for families as they experience shock after shock,” Malik said.
Children are feeling the devastating impacts of three years of drought, high levels of unemployment, and the return of more than 1.4 million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran, he added.
“We need long-term, community-based solutions to help families rebuild their lives,” Malik said.
More than 557,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023, after Pakistan began cracking down on foreigners it alleges are in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans. It insists the campaign isn’t directed against Afghans specifically, but they make up most of the foreigners in the South Asian country.
In April, Save the Children said that a quarter-million Afghan children need education, food and homes after being forcibly returned from Pakistan.
Malik added that only 16 percent of funding for the 2024 humanitarian response plan has been met so far, but nearly half the population needs assistance.
“This is not the time for the world to look away,” he said.
Meanwhile, the European Union is allocating an additional 10 million euros (nearly $10.9 million) to the UN food agency for school feeding activities in Afghanistan. These latest funds from the EU follow an earlier contribution of 20.9 million euros ($22.7 million) toward the World Food Program’s school meal program in Afghanistan for 2022 and 2023.
The funding comes at a timely moment and averts WFP having to downsize its school meal program this year because of a lack of funding, the WFP said in a statement.
“Hunger can be a barrier to education. The additional EU funding to our long-standing partner WFP ensures that more children in Afghanistan receive nutritious food,” said Raffaella Iodice, chargé d’affaires of the EU’s delegation to Afghanistan.
The WFP’s statement said that the agency will be able to use the funding to distribute fortified biscuits or locally produced nutritious school snacks to pupils in more than 10,000 schools in the eight provinces of Farah, Ghor, Jawzjan, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Paktika, Uruzgan and Zabul.
Last year, WFP supported 1.5 million school-age children through this program.
