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UAE President arrives in Seoul for two-day state visit

UAE President arrives in Seoul for two-day state visit
Sheikh Mohamed is expected to discuss bilateral ties with his South Korean counterpart focusing on trade, investment, energy and technology. (WAM)
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Updated 28 May 2024
Arab News
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UAE President arrives in Seoul for two-day state visit

UAE President arrives in Seoul for two-day state visit
Updated 28 May 2024
Arab News
Follow

DUBAI: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for a two-day state visit after an invitation from South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

After his arrival, Sheikh Mohamed, on X, said he and Yoon would discuss “ways to advance the special strategic partnership between the UAE and Republic of Korea. Through economic partnership and close people-to-people ties, our nations are determined to achieve further progress that benefits all.”

The president’s plane was escorted by military aircraft in a gesture of respect and welcome as it entered South Korean airspace, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

Sheikh Mohamed is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al-Nahyan, adviser for special affairs at the presidential court; Ali bin Hammad Al-Shamsi, secretary-general of the Supreme Council for National Security; and Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology.

Sheikh Mohamed is expected to discuss bilateral ties with his South Korean counterpart focusing on trade, investment, energy and technology.

They will also address regional and international developments of common interest, WAM reported.

“The meeting comes within the framework of strategic partnership between the UAE and South Korea in line with their vision to achieve a better and more prosperous future for the countries,” according to the WAM report.

The UAE president is expected to travel to China on May 30 for a state visit when Beijing hosts Arab leaders for the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

The forum aims to deepen “consensus between China and Arab countries” and “issue a common voice between China and Arab countries on the Palestinian issue,” said China’s Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li.

Topics: UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed South Korea

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Jailed Belarus Nobel winner should have been freed in prisoner swap, say supporters

Updated 7 sec ago
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Jailed Belarus Nobel winner should have been freed in prisoner swap, say supporters

Jailed Belarus Nobel winner should have been freed in prisoner swap, say supporters
Updated 7 sec ago
Allies of Bialiatski and other jailed Belarusians are disappointed they were not included in the swap
Alena Masliukova, a member of Viasna — the human rights organization founded by Bialiatski, said: “This was a total disappointment, and we still haven’t overcome it“

VILNIUS: Supporters of jailed Belarusian Nobel Peace laureate Ales Bialiatski say the human rights activist should have been included in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War on Thursday.
Allies of Bialiatski and other jailed Belarusians are disappointed they were not included in the swap, which saw eight Russians, including a convicted murderer, exchanged for 16 prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails, many of them dissidents.
Some of the Russian dissidents freed in the swap, including Ilya Yashin, an opposition activist, expressed anger or reservations on Friday at having been deported from their country against their will.
Bialiatski, 61, who is serving a 10-year sentence for financing anti-government protests after a trial in 2023 condemned by the US and the European Union as a “sham,” was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 — a year after his arrest.
“When we heard that the deal is imminent, we hoped that someone from Belarus political prisoners will surely be a part of it. First of all, of course, the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner,” said Alena Masliukova, a member of Viasna — the human rights organization founded by Bialiatski.
“This was a total disappointment, and we still haven’t overcome it,” said Masliukova, who now lives in exile in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
Among those released in this week’s swap was German citizen Rico Krieger who had been sentenced to death on terrorism charges in Belarus, a close ally of Russia where — according to Viasna — 1,390 people are in jail for political reasons — many linked to mass protests four years ago.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, faced large protests after a disputed 2020 presidential election — the biggest challenge to his rule.
He has long dismissed accusations of human rights abuse.
Viasna says activists are still dragged before courts for their role in the protests, and Masliukova said political prisoners faced harsh conditions in jail.
“They are kept in cold cells, without contact with relatives. They leave jail with damaged health,” she said.
Bialiatski returned voluntarily from exile to Belarus in 2021 despite knowing he likely faced arrest, which supporters said meant he might not be willing to leave the country again, a process which legally requires the prisoner to ask for a pardon.
“I know his character and I am sure there is no way he would ask for pardon from Lukashenko,” said Siarhei Sys, a long-time friend. “I don’t know what happens in five years ... It all depends on the state of his health.”

Myanmar armed group says captured regional military command

Myanmar armed group says captured regional military command
Updated 1 min 57 sec ago
AFP
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Myanmar armed group says captured regional military command

Myanmar armed group says captured regional military command
Updated 1 min 57 sec ago
AFP

BANGKOK: A Myanmar ethnic minority armed group said Saturday it had captured a regional military command after weeks of clashes, in what would be a major blow to the junta.
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) fighters have "fully captured the headquarters of the northeast military command" in Lashio in northern Shan state, the group said in a statement.
Fighting has rocked Lashio, which sits on a major trade highway to China, since early July when MNDAA fighters renewed an offensive against the junta.
A junta spokesman could not be reached for comment.
A military source told AFP on Saturday that "soldiers who have been resisting for weeks inside the north eastern command started retreating this morning."
The source, who requested anonymity to talk to the media, did not say if any troops were still inside the regional command.
AFP was unable to reach people on the ground in Lashio, which is normally home to around 150,000 people.
Myanmar's military has 14 regional commands across the country, from the Himalayan foothills in the north to the sprawling southern delta region bordering the Indian Ocean.
Soldiers in at least 10 of them are currently engaged in fighting established ethnic minority armed groups or newer "People's Defence Forces" that have sprung up to battle the military since its 2021 coup.
The capture of the Lashio post would be the first time the military has lost a regional command during the conflict which erupted more than three years ago.
The military is yet to recover territory in northern Shan state lost to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups, including the MNDAA, launched late last year.
That offensive saw the MNDAA capture the city of Laukkai near the China border after around 2,000 junta troops surrendered, in one of the military's biggest single defeats in decades.
Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting in Shan state, according to the junta and local rescue groups.
Neither the junta nor the ethnic alliance have released figures on their own casualties.
Myanmar's borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

Topics: Myanmar

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British police braced for more far-right violence over the weekend after another night of disorder

British police braced for more far-right violence over the weekend after another night of disorder
Updated 45 min 2 sec ago
AP
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British police braced for more far-right violence over the weekend after another night of disorder

British police braced for more far-right violence over the weekend after another night of disorder
Updated 45 min 2 sec ago
AP

LONDON: Police across the UK are bracing for more violence Saturday following another night of rioting by far-right protesters that saw four officers hospitalized during a tense stand-off outside a mosque in the city of Sunderland northeast England.
During the violent disorder on Friday evening, protesters tossed beer barrels, fire extinguishers and rocks at police officers. A car was set ablaze, and a police station was attacked. Many of those involved were not from the city and traveled to cause chaos, according to police.
The violence in Sunderland, which saw ten people arrested, is the latest outbreak of violence over the past few days and nights, which have ostensibly erupted in the wake of Monday’s stabbing rampage at a dance class in the northwest seaside town of Southport that left three girls dead and several wounded. A 17-year-old male has been arrested.
False rumors spread online about the young man’s identity, being a Muslim and an immigrant, fueled anger among far-right supporters. Suspects under 18 are usually not named in the UK, but Judge Andrew Menary ordered Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents, to be identified, in part to stop the spread of misinformation.
In a press briefing on Saturday after the clear-up, Northumbria Police Chief Superintendent Mark Hall described the violent protests in Sunderland as “unforgivable” and that four police officers were injured, three as a direct result of the disorder. He also said a mounted rider sustained serious injuries in an accident and is receiving treatment in hospital.
“During the course of the evening, our officers were met with serious and sustained levels of violence,” he said. “Make no mistake, if you were involved last night, expect to be met with the full force of the law.”
More than 20 protests are expected over the weekend, including in Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester. Police said many are being organized online by shadowy far-right groups, who are mobilizing support with phrases like “enough is enough,” “save our kids” and “stop the boats.” Counter-protests are also anticipated with the organization Stand Up To Racism rallying against Islamophobia and the far-right.
Police have deployed more officers over the weekend, made more prison cells available and will deploy surveillance and facial recognition technology.
Britain’s new Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on social media platform X Saturday that criminals attacking the police and stoking disorder will “pay the price” for their thuggery and that the police have the full backing of the government to “take the strongest possible action.”
Far-right demonstrators have held several violent protests since the stabbing attack, clashing with police Tuesday outside a mosque in Southport — near the scene of the horrific stabbing — and hurling beer cans, bottles and flares near the prime minister’s office in London the next day. People in Southport are understandably angry at the organized acts of random violence that have accentuated their shock and grief.
The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare.
Rudakubana, has been charged with murder over the attack that killed Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6. He also has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults who were wounded.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has blamed the violence on “far-right hatred” and vowed to end the mayhem. He said police across the UK would be given more resources to stop “a breakdown in law and order on our streets.”
At a news conference Thursday, the prime minister said the street violence was “clearly driven by far-right hatred” as he announced a program enabling police to better share intelligence across agencies and move quickly to make arrests.
“This is coordinated; this is deliberate,” Starmer said. “This is not a protest that has got out of hand. It is a group of individuals who are absolutely bent on violence.”

Topics: UK violence London

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Barred from school, Afghan girls find temporary relief in online classes

Barred from school, Afghan girls find temporary relief in online classes
Updated 03 August 2024
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Barred from school, Afghan girls find temporary relief in online classes

Barred from school, Afghan girls find temporary relief in online classes
  • 1.1 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to formal education since September 2021
  • Those who pursue online training have no illusion it could substitute real schools and universities
Updated 03 August 2024
MODASER ISLAMI

KABUL: Ahmadullah Faizi was glad when his 16-year-old daughter found a way to continue learning after the Taliban closed her school in Kabul three years ago.

She took online classes in graphics and design, and while virtual learning was not exactly what the girl had planned for herself — she wanted to study computer science after graduating from high school — it offered some temporary relief.

“She is very creative ... The online learning program helped her gain new skills,” Faizi said.

“She’s very happy and always offers everyone in the family help with designing tasks. She designs brand names and logos and works with different videos that she clicks with her phone.”

Faizi’s daughter is one of around 1.1 million girls who have been denied access to formal education since September 2021 — a month after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and suspended secondary schools for them.

Neither appeals at home nor international pressure have since helped to lift the ban, which Taliban authorities have repeatedly said was an “internal matter,” as they later extended the ban to universities, with more than 100,000 female students blocked from finishing their degrees.

With the only public educational institutions allowed for girls being madrasas — Islamic schools that focus on religious training — online classes have been the sole available option to access modern education.

It is not clear how many girls and women are involved in online learning in a country where less than 20 percent of the population has access to the internet.

One of the main organizations offering online courses, the Afghan chapter of Women in Tech International — a global NGO promoting and supporting the achievements of women in technology — has registered thousands of users since starting its digital training programs two years ago.

“Many of them have been able to grow their networks with experts from different countries and remote work opportunities, and some have started their advanced degrees online. These initiatives have provided them with valuable skills and a sense of empowerment and independence in a society where formal educational opportunities are restricted,” Dr. Zahra Nazari, country director of Women in Tech Afghanistan, told Arab News.

“We have trained over 3,000 Afghan women through various programs, including coding, AI, data science and digital literacy.”

While such courses offer an opportunity and hope — although limited to those who have the devices and internet connection to access them — there is no illusion that they could substitute real schools and universities, or help women be independent when there are also restrictions on their work.

“The short-term and online programs can offer only temporary and incomplete solutions,” said Faizi, whose daughter despite learning design skills has not been able to put them into practice.

“Unless schools and universities are reopened and women are allowed to have better work opportunities, the situation of girls and women will remain the same.”

Shabana Amiri, a 20-year-old from Kabul who graduated from high school in 2021, has tried online classes and while she thinks they were good, there was no way they could offer an alternative to formal education.

“At school and university, we are making a career and get lifelong experiences whereas in the short-term courses, we learn only limited skills. The only way out is to reopen schools and universities,” she said.

“Otherwise, most of the girls would want to leave the country to pursue an education. I don’t want to stay in Afghanistan and become illiterate for the rest of my life.”

Topics: Afghanistan Afghan Taliban

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Sweden shuts Lebanon embassy amid fears of escalation

Sweden shuts Lebanon embassy amid fears of escalation
Updated 03 August 2024
AFP
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Sweden shuts Lebanon embassy amid fears of escalation

Sweden shuts Lebanon embassy amid fears of escalation
  • The killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders this week, blamed on Israel, have heightened regional tensions amid the Gaza war
Updated 03 August 2024
AFP

STOCKHOLM: Sweden said Saturday it was shutting its embassy in Beirut amid fears the war in Gaza could escalate into a region-wide conflict, after urging thousands of its citizens to leave Lebanon.
The killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders this week, blamed on Israel, have heightened regional tensions amid the Gaza war.
“The foreign ministry has instructed its staff to leave Beirut and travel to Cyprus, and the foreign ministry is planning a temporary relocation of its embassy,” Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Swedish Radio.
The decision had been taken “initially for the month of August but may be extended depending on the security situation.”
“The ministry is monitoring developments closely,” he said.
According to the foreign ministry, as many as 10,000 Swedish nationals may have traveled to Lebanon this summer, defying a travel warning in place for the country since October 2023.
“I urge Swedes in Lebanon to leave the country by whichever means possible, while they still can,” he said.

Topics: War on Gaza Lebanon Sweden

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