MUMBAI/WASHINGTON: India strongly objected on Wednesday to US remarks about its “internal affairs” after the arrest of Delhi’s chief minister, a government rival, and the freezing of opposition Congress party bank accounts ahead of an election.
Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governs the national capital territory and the northern state of Punjab, was arrested last week by the federal financial crime-fighting agency on corruption charges, weeks before Indians head to the polls from April 19.
AAP, all of whose main leaders are now imprisoned in connection with the case, says Kejriwal has been “falsely arrested” in a “fabricated case.”
It has an electoral alliance with the Congress party and others who aim to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
On Wednesday, India summoned the acting US deputy chief of mission in New Delhi following a State Department comment on Monday that it was closely following reports of Kejriwal’s arrest and that it encouraged a fair legal process.
“India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.
“In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents,” it said.
India and the US enjoy close ties and Washington has increasingly come to see New Delhi as an important partner in its effort to push back against China’s growing power worldwide.
When asked about the summoning of the diplomat, a US State Department spokesperson said he would not discuss private conversations but reiterated that Washington encouraged a “fair, transparent and timely” legal process for Kejriwal and for the Congress party.
The Congress party said last week its bank accounts had been frozen over an income tax case. It called the action politically motivated.
The federal government and Modi’s party deny political interference.
Kejriwal’s arrest after the announcement of elections has angered the opposition alliance challenging Modi and drawn international attention.
The US comments on Kejriwal followed those by Germany, which said Berlin assumes and expects that the standards relating to independence of judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case.
In response, New Delhi summoned a German envoy to protest against the remarks.
India objects to US remarks on opposition figure Kejriwal’s arrest
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India objects to US remarks on opposition figure Kejriwal’s arrest
- Kejriwal’s arrest after the announcement of elections has angered the opposition alliance challenging Modi and drawn international attention
London police arrest sword-wielding man after reports of stabbing
The 36-year old man was arrested after police were called to reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in the area close to Hainault train station, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Police said the suspect had attacked members of the public and two officers.
“This must have been a terrifying incident for those concerned. I know the wider community will be feeling shock and alarm,” Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said. “We do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the wider community.”
The force said the incident did not appear to be terror-related and they were not looking for further suspects.
“I am being regularly updated about the incident at Hainault Station this morning,” Britain’s interior minister James Cleverly said on X. “My thoughts are with those who have been affected.”
Gunman kills six in attack on Afghan mosque – Taliban spokesman
- Locals say the mosque served the minority Shiite community just south of the Afghan city of Herat
- While no group has claimed the attack, the regional chapter of Daesh is viewed as threat in Afghanistan
HERAT: A gunman stormed a mosque in western Afghanistan and killed six people, a government spokesman said Tuesday, with local residents claiming the minority Shiite community had been targeted.
Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said that “an unknown armed person shot at civilian worshippers in a mosque” in Herat province’s Guzara district on Monday at around 9:00 p.m. (1630 GMT).
“Six civilians were martyred and one civilian was injured,” he wrote on social media platform X early Tuesday morning.
Locals said the mosque served the minority Shiite community in a district just south of the provincial capital of Herat city, and the imam and a three-year-old child were among those killed.
They also said a team of three gunmen staged the attack, contradicting the official account.
“One of them was outside and two of them came inside the mosque, shooting the worshippers,” said 60-year-old Ibrahim Akhlaqi, the brother of the slain imam. “It was in the middle of the prayers.”
“Whoever was in the mosque has either been martyred or wounded,” added 23-year-old Sayed Murtaza Hussaini.
While no group has claimed the attack, the regional chapter of Daesh is the largest security threat in Afghanistan and has frequently targeted Shiite communities.
The Taliban government has pledged to protect religious and ethnic minorities since returning to power in August 2021, but rights monitors say they’ve done little to make good on that promise.
The most notorious attack linked to Daesh since the Taliban takeover was in 2022, when at least 53 people — including 46 girls and young women — were slain in the suicide bombing of an education center.
Taliban officials blamed Daesh for the attack, which happened in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital Kabul.
Afghanistan’s new rulers claim to have ousted Daesh from the country and are highly sensitive to suggestions the group has found safe haven there since the withdrawal of foreign forces.
Taliban authorities have frequently given death tolls lower than other sources after bombings and gun attacks, or otherwise downplayed them, in an apparent attempt to minimize security threats.
A United Nations Security Council report released in January said there had been a decrease in Daesh attacks in Afghanistan because of “counter-terrorism efforts by the Taliban.”
But the report said Daesh still had “substantial” recruitment in the country and that the militant group had “the ability to project a threat into the region and beyond.”
Daesh chapter spanning Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia claimed responsibility for the March attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow, killing more than 140 people.
It was the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades.
China says Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah met for talks in Beijing
BEIJING: China said Tuesday that rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah met in Beijing recently for “in-depth and candid talks on promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation.”
“Representatives of the Palestine National Liberation Movement and the Islamic Resistance Movement recently came to Beijing,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, referring to the groups by their formal names.
“The two sides fully expressed their political will to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, discussed many specific issues and made positive progress,” he added, without specifying when the sides had met.
Islamist movement Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 after ferocious fighting with its rivals in Fatah, which maintains partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank through the Palestinian Authority.
China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Beijing has been calling for an immediate ceasefire since the start of the current Israel-Hamas war in October last year, when attacks by the militant group resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Tuesday.
Beijing said on Tuesday the two factions had “agreed to continue this process of dialogue with a view to achieving Palestinian unity at an early date.”
“The two sides highly appreciated China’s firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights,” Lin said.
He did not identify the representatives from Hamas and Fatah who met in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an “international peace conference” to resolve the fighting.
In November, Beijing hosted a delegation of diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations, in which Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned a “humanitarian disaster” was unfolding in Gaza.
The heatwave baking parts of Asia
- Record temperatures from Myanmar to Philippines force millions of children to stay home from school
- Experts say climate change causing more frequent heatwaves that are more intense, last longer
BANGKOK: Large swaths of Asia are sweltering through a heatwave that has topped temperature records from Myanmar to the Philippines and forced millions of children to stay home from school.
Here are some questions and answers about the extreme heat, which scientists warn will become more frequent and intense because of human-induced climate change.
The heat has hit much of South and Southeast Asia, with record temperatures in Myanmar’s Chauk and the Philippine capital Manila in recent days.
Thai authorities have issued warnings about “severe conditions,” while authorities in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh all forecast temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The Philippines and Bangladesh both suspended in-person classes, while India is reviewing whether heat has affected turnout in national elections.
Even northern Japan has been affected: temperatures in Japan’s Sapporo this month passed 25C (77F) at the earliest point of any year on record.
The months preceding the region’s monsoon, or rainy season, are usually hot but temperatures this year are well above average in many countries.
Experts say climate change is causing more frequent heatwaves that are more intense and last longer.
Asia is also warming faster than the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency.
And the El Nino weather phenomenon is playing a role this year, said Milton Speer, a meteorologist and visiting research fellow at the University of Technology Sydney.
“The lack of cloud in El Ninos means that temperatures are likely to be higher on average,” he told AFP.
Sea surface temperatures in the region are currently several degrees Celsius above normal, “which helps keep the temperatures higher than average inland overnight.”
“So daytime temperatures start climbing from a higher base.”
There are other factors at play too, including deforestation that reduces shade and increases dry surface area, and the urban heat island effect, where concrete, glass and steel structures absorb rather than reflect heat.
Extreme heat disproportionately affects children, the elderly and those living in poverty.
Children, older people and those with pre-existing conditions or disabilities can overheat more quickly.
Those living in poverty also often lack cooling solutions at home or are forced to work in conditions without adequate heat protection.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF warned this month that 243 million children across the Pacific and East Asia are at risk from heatwaves.
“Child exposure to heatwaves leads to heat stress,” said Salwa Aleryani, health specialist for UNICEF’s regional East Asia and Pacific office.
“Severe issues can develop, such as cardiovascular diseases, organ failure, muscle and nerve dysfunction,” she told AFP.
Authorities in several countries asked citizens to stay at home. Hospitals in Nepal were put on standby, while Cambodian officials asked public schools to keep doors and windows open for ventilation.
Measures went further in Bangladesh and the Philippines, with schools closed for days.
But many children will not have cooler conditions at home, warned Aleryani.
They may also be left unsupervised by parents who cannot afford to stay home from work, and risk serious interruptions to their education.
The heat in Bangladesh is not expected to recede until Thursday at the earliest, and in Thailand forecasters warned that annual rains may arrive in late May, several weeks later than normal.
Speer said the overall warming trend will continue even when the region’s monsoon arrives to lower temperatures.
“Heatwaves will continue to happen more often because the oceans and atmosphere are gradually heating up due to global warming,” he said.
That in turn poses growing risks to crops and livestock, as well as humans whose jobs require them to work outdoors.
Adaptation will be crucial, including offering “sustainable neighborhood structures with air conditioning where people could go during the day and sleep at night,” Speer said.
The Taliban are working to woo tourists to Afghanistan
- Foreigners encouraged by sharp drop in violence, increased flight connections to hubs like Dubai are visiting Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan: Around 30 men are crammed into a Kabul classroom, part of the debut student cohort at a Taliban-run institute training tourism and hospitality professionals.
It’s a motley crew. One student is a model. Another is 17 and has no job history.
The students vary in age, education level and professional experience. They’re all men — Afghan women are banned from studying beyond sixth grade — and they don’t know anything about tourism or hospitality. But they are all eager to promote a different side of Afghanistan. And the Taliban are happy to help.
Afghanistan’s rulers are pariahs on the global stage, largely because of their restrictions on women and girls. The economy is struggling, infrastructure is poor, and poverty is rife.
And yet, foreigners are visiting the country, encouraged by the sharp drop in violence, increased flight connections with hubs like Dubai, and the bragging rights that come with vacationing in an unusual destination. The numbers aren’t huge — they never were — but there’s a buzz around Afghan tourism.
In 2021, there were 691 foreign tourists. In 2022, that figure rose to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000.
Mohammad Saeed, the head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul, said the biggest foreign visitor market is China because of its proximity and large population. Afghanistan also has advantages over some of its neighbors.
“They’ve told me they don’t want to go to Pakistan because it’s dangerous and they get attacked. The Japanese have said this to me also,” Saeed said. “This is good for us.”
But there are disadvantages, too.
Visas are difficult and expensive to access. Many countries severed ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, and no country recognizes them as the legitimate rulers of the country.
Afghan embassies either closed or suspended their operations. There’s an ongoing power struggle between Afghanistan’s embassies and consulates staffed by people from the former Western-backed administration, and those under the Taliban administration’s full control.
Saeed concedes there are obstacles for Afghan tourism to develop but said he was working with ministries to overcome them.
His ultimate aim is to have a visa on arrival for tourists, but that could be years away. There are problems with the road network, which is half-paved or non-existent in some parts of the country, and airlines largely avoid Afghan airspace.
The capital Kabul has the most international flights, but no Afghan airport has direct routes with major tourist markets like China, Europe, or India.
Despite the challenges, Saeed wants Afghanistan to become a tourism powerhouse, an ambition that appears to be backed by the Taliban’s top leaders.
“I have been sent to this department on the instructions of the elders (ministers). They must trust me because they’ve sent me to this important place.”
The students also have aspirations. The model, Ahmed Massoud Talash, wants to learn about Afghanistan’s picturesque spots for Instagram posts and its history for media appearances.
Business school graduate Samir Ahmadzai wants to open a hotel but thinks he should know more about tourism and hospitality first.
“They hear that Afghanistan is backwards, poverty and all about war,” said Ahmadzai. “We have 5,000 years of history. There should be a new page of Afghanistan.”
Classes include Afghan handicrafts and anthropology basics.
An unofficial subject is how to interact with foreign women and how their behavior or habits could clash with local customs and edicts. Examples might be women smoking or eating in public, to mixing freely with men who are not related to them by blood or marriage.
The Taliban have imposed a dress code for women and requirements for them to have a male guardian, or mahram, when they travel. Dining alone, traveling alone, and socializing with other women in public have become harder. With gyms closed to women and beauty salons banned, there are fewer places where they can meet outside the home.
In a sign that the country is preparing for more overseas visitors, the country’s only five-star hotel, the Serena, has reopened its women’s spa and salon for foreign females after a monthslong closure.
Foreigners must show their passport to access services. Women with “born in Afghanistan” on their ID are barred.
The restrictions on Afghan women and girls weigh on overseas travel companies, who say they try to focus on the positive aspect of cultural interactions by making donations, supporting local projects or only visiting family-run businesses.
Shane Horan, the founder of Rocky Road Travel, said visiting Afghanistan should not be seen as an endorsement of any particular government or political regime.
“Ultimately, the goal should be to support responsible tourism practices that contribute positively to the local economy and foster mutual respect and understanding, while also remaining cognizant of the broader political context in Afghanistan.”
He said there was no input from authorities about what tour groups saw or did, and that the company worked closely with a women’s rights organization in Afghanistan. A percentage of the tour cost went into supporting this organization’s programs, Horan added.
There are no women at the Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management. The students don’t mention it. But an official at the Tourism Directorate does.
“It’s a heartbreaking situation,” said the official, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “Even female family members ask if they can study here. But there was a change in policy with the change in government. The women who were studying before (the takeover) never came back. They never graduated.”
