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Pakistan man faces cyber terror charge over false posts linked to UK riots

Smoke billows from a fire started by protesters as riot police stand guard after disturbances near the Southport Islamic Society Mosque in northwest England. (File/AFP)
Smoke billows from a fire started by protesters as riot police stand guard after disturbances near the Southport Islamic Society Mosque in northwest England. (File/AFP)
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Updated 21 August 2024
AFP
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Pakistan man faces cyber terror charge over false posts linked to UK riots

Smoke billows from a fire started by protesters as police stand guard after disturbances near Southport Islamic Society Mosque
  • Farhan Asif was accused of publishing an article on his Channel3Now website
  • Article falsely claimed that a Muslim asylum seeker was suspected in a deadly knife attack on children in the UK
Updated 21 August 2024
AFP
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LAHORE: A Pakistani man appeared in court Wednesday to face charges of cyber terrorism after allegedly spreading disinformation on his clickbait website thought to have fueled anti-immigration riots in Britain.
Farhan Asif was accused of publishing an article on his Channel3Now website falsely claiming that a Muslim asylum seeker was suspected in a deadly knife attack on children in the United Kingdom.
UK authorities have blamed online misinformation for sparking days of riots which targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers as well as police officers and other properties.
“He is a 31-year-old software engineer with no journalism credentials, apart from running the Channel3Now website, which served as a source of income for him,” a senior official at Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“Initial investigations indicate that his sole intent was to make money through clickbait content.”
Asif appeared at a Lahore district court on Wednesday charged with cyber terrorism and was remanded to custody for one day, the official added.
The article with the false information was published on Channel3Now just hours after the attack and was widely cited in viral social media posts.
More than a dozen English towns and cities saw unrest and riots after the July 29 knife attack that killed three girls during a dance class in Southport.
The man charged with murder and attempted murder over the stabbing spree, Axel Rudakubana, was born in Britain to parents who hail from Rwanda, an overwhelmingly Christian country.
Officials have blamed far-right elements for helping to stir up the disorder.

Topics: riots Anti-Muslim Southport Pakistan

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Blinken in Poland to seek common cause after Ukraine jitters

Blinken in Poland to seek common cause after Ukraine jitters
Updated 13 sec ago
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Blinken in Poland to seek common cause after Ukraine jitters

Blinken in Poland to seek common cause after Ukraine jitters
  • Poland, with its dark historical memories of Moscow, has seen unity in backing Ukraine since its invasion by Russia in 2022
  • Blinken hopes to use the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration to work with allies to ensure support for Ukraine
Updated 13 sec ago
AFP
PRZEMYSL, Poland: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday meets Poland’s leaders to forge common cause on Ukraine as upcoming US elections and Russian attacks raise new jitters.
The top US diplomat crossed into Poland by train after a joint solidarity trip to Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, with the two pledging to swiftly review Ukraine’s requests for permission to strike deeper into Russia.
Blinken will meet separately in Warsaw with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda, bitter rivals on the direction of the European Union member.
While split on domestic policy, Poland, with its dark historical memories of Moscow, has seen unity in backing Ukraine since its invasion by Russia in 2022.
Blinken hopes to use the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration to work with allies to ensure broad and sustained support for Ukraine, which has received billions of dollars in Western military and economic support.
The November 5 US election could dramatically shift the stance of Ukraine’s biggest backer, however, with Republican candidate Donald Trump declining to say in a debate on Tuesday whether he wants Ukraine to win.
Biden’s political heir Kamala Harris referenced Poland — and the Polish-American vote in the politically crucial state of Pennsylvania — as she vowed to keep up the fight for Ukraine.
If the United States had not backed Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe,” Harris said.
“Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish-Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor, and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch?” she told Trump, referring to his past statements of admiration for Putin.
Poland, since the end of the Cold War an enthusiastic US ally, nonetheless sought to work with Trump during his 2017-2021 presidency.
Duda met with Trump in April in New York, and the two have praised each other’s records.
The European-oriented Tusk, who triumphed in elections last year, has spoken of restoring democracy after polarization, a key priority for Biden.
Biden this year welcomed Tusk and Duda jointly at the White House, hoping to send a signal of bipartisanship on Ukraine.
Tusk has not shied away from calling out members of Trump’s Republican Party who oppose assisting Ukraine.
During a long delay in Congress approving new military aid to Ukraine, Tusk said that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bore personal responsibility for “thousands of lives.”
Blinken is expected to discuss further coordination with Poland, the key logistical gateway for Western military support into Ukraine.
Poland has also ramped up purchases of US weapons since the invasion of Ukraine.
Poland last month signed a deal with Boeing to buy 96 Apache attack helicopters for $10 billion.

Indian police arrest 33 after violence in troubled Manipur

Indian police arrest 33 after violence in troubled Manipur
Updated 14 min 22 sec ago
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Indian police arrest 33 after violence in troubled Manipur

Indian police arrest 33 after violence in troubled Manipur
  • After months of relative calm, fresh fighting erupted this month among rival communities
  • Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain
Updated 14 min 22 sec ago
AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested 33 people after a surge in ethnic violence in Manipur state, where a curfew and an Internet blackout have been imposed, officers said Thursday.
Fighting broke out in Manipur in May 2023, between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community, an ethnic conflict that has since killed at least 200 people.
Since then, communities have splintered into rival groups across swaths of the northeastern state, which borders war-torn Myanmar.
After months of relative calm, fresh fighting erupted this month.
At least 11 people have been killed, including in what police called a “significant escalation” of violence, with insurgents firing rockets and dropping bombs with drones.
“In the follow up to the violent protests in the past few days, Manipur Police has arrested 33 people and apprehended seven juveniles,” a police statement read.
It urged people “to cooperate with law enforcing agencies in the maintenance of peace and normalcy.”
Authorities have imposed an Internet shutdown in several areas, repeating a blackout that last year lasted for months.
Police have also ordered a curfew, but hundreds in the state capital Imphal defied the order.
Meitei protesters marched through Imphal on Tuesday to demand security forces take action against Kuki insurgent groups, whom they blame for the latest spate of attacks.
Long-standing tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolve around competition for land and public jobs.
Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain.
Manipur is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Fighting last year forced around 60,000 people from their homes, according to government figures. Many have been unable to return home.

Topics: India Manipur

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China will ‘crush’ foreign encroachment in South China Sea: military official

China will ‘crush’ foreign encroachment in South China Sea: military official
Updated 25 min 18 sec ago
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China will ‘crush’ foreign encroachment in South China Sea: military official

China will ‘crush’ foreign encroachment in South China Sea: military official
  • Senior Beijing military official: We hope that the South China Sea will remain a sea of peace
  • Washington and Beijing have clashed in recent months over China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions
Updated 25 min 18 sec ago
AFP

BEIJING: China will “crush” any foreign incursion into its sovereign territory including in the South China Sea, a senior Beijing military official said Thursday on the sidelines of a defense forum.
“We hope that the South China Sea will remain a sea of peace,” Chinese army Lt. Gen. He Lei told a small group of journalists at the Xiangshan forum.
But, he added, “if the United States moves its pawns behind the scenes, if it pushes countries to the front line, or if the United States itself ends up on the front line, then we in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army... will never have any patience.”
“We in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will resolutely crush any foreign hostile encroachment on China’s territorial, sovereign and maritime rights and interests with firm determination, staunch will, strong capability and effective means,” He said.
Washington and Beijing have clashed in recent months over China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, including the South China Sea.
In recent months, Chinese vessels have engaged in a series of high-profile confrontations with Philippine ships in the waters, which Beijing claims almost in its entirely despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
On Thursday, Lt. Gen. He said a resolution to those tensions “depends on the United States.”

Topics: China South China Sea

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Pope Francis says migrant workers need ‘a fair wage’

Pope Francis says migrant workers need ‘a fair wage’
Updated 33 min 22 sec ago
AFP
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Pope Francis says migrant workers need ‘a fair wage’

Pope Francis says migrant workers need ‘a fair wage’
  • There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world – about five percent of the global workforce
  • Cheap labor has been instrumental in the rapid growth of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore
Updated 33 min 22 sec ago
AFP

SINGAPORE: Pope Francis made a plea for migrant workers to be paid fairly on Thursday, as he visited the affluent city-state of Singapore on the last stop of his marathon Asia-Pacific tour.
The 87-year-old pope said “special attention” should be paid to “protecting the dignity of migrant workers,” in an address to local political leaders and dignitaries.
“These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage,” he said.
There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world — about five percent of the global workforce — according to the International Labour Organization.
Most live in the Americas, Europe and Central Asia.
But cheap labor has been instrumental in the rapid growth of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore.
About 300,000 low-wage migrant workers are estimated to work in Singapore.
Advocates say they lack adequate protection against exploitation and sometimes endure poor living conditions, charges the government denies.
The issue shot to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tens of thousands of migrant workers were forcibly locked down in dormitories.
Many migrants in Singapore come from South Asia and from the Philippines, which has a large and notably devout Catholic majority.
“I’m so happy that the pope has chosen to speak on this topic,” a 34-year-old Filipino domestic helper told AFP, asking not to be named because she did not have permission from her employer.
“Even if they don’t raise my salary, I’m still happy to know that the pope himself is fighting and praying for us” she said.
The woman said she earned $460 a month, in a nation where the median gross income is $3,985, according to Ministry for Manpower statistics for 2023.
Another South Indian worker welcomed the pope’s comments, but said he was happy after five years in the city state.
“Yes, the work is very hard and a higher salary would be better but I’m happy.”
The pope did not refer to workers in Singapore explicitly. But his comments are likely to cause unease inside a government which is fiercely protective of its image.
Still, the Argentine pontiff was otherwise glowing about his hosts, praising the “entrepreneurial spirit” and dynamism that built a “mass of ultra-modern skyscrapers that seem to rise from the sea.”
“Singapore is a mosaic of ethnicities, cultures and religions living together in harmony,” he said, painting the population of almost six million as a shining light for the world.
“I encourage you to continue to work in favor of the unity and fraternity of humanity and the common good of all peoples and all nations,” he said.
About 30 percent of Singaporeans are Buddhist, 20 percent have no religion and the rest are a mix of Catholic, Protestant, Taoist and Hindu.
Singapore is the last stop on the pope’s 12-day, four-nation Asia-Pacific trip aimed at boosting the Catholic Church’s standing in the world’s most populous region.
Francis has defied doubts about his health during a journey that has taken him from a Jakarta grand mosque to a remote jungle of Papua New Guinea.
Despite recently undergoing hernia surgery and dealing with a string of respiratory issues, he has carried out dozens of public engagements, energized congregations and repeatedly sat for hours in the brutal tropical heat.
In East Timor, he held a mass for 600,000 faithful — almost half the nation’s population.
Although the crowds were markedly smaller in Singapore, groups of enthusiasts still lined the main roads trying to get a glimpse of the head of the Catholic Church.
Security was tight, with roads closed and police manning a string of roadblocks.
Welinda Elorde, a 56-year-old cancer survivor traveled from the Philippines for the occasion.
“I think I’m going to cry when I see him. I can feel the emotions now,” she said.
“I’m hoping for complete healing.”

Topics: Pope Francis migrant workers Singapore Dubai Doha

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Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon’s aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon’s aftermath brings flash floods and landslides
Updated 56 min 9 sec ago
AP
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Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon’s aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon’s aftermath brings flash floods and landslides
  • The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam’s Lao Cai province
Updated 56 min 9 sec ago
AP

HANO: Nearly 200 people have died in Vietnam in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi and more than 125 are missing as flash floods and landslides take their toll, state media reported Thursday.
Vietnam’s VNExpress newspaper reported that 197 people have died and 128 are still missing, while more than 800 have been injured.
The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam’s Lao Cai province Tuesday. Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly Wednesday to search for survivors, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.
Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph). Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.
The heavy rains also damaged factories in export-focused northern Vietnam’s industrial hubs.

Topics: Vietnam

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