You are here

  • Home
  • India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths

India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths

India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths
Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) supporters sit on a water tank and listen to the party candidates during a campaign rally for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections at Nagrota outskirts of Jammu, India, Thursday, Sep.12, 2024.(AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Short Url

https://arab.news/6kvmn

Updated 10 min 15 sec ago
AFP
Follow

India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths

India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths
  • Indian-administered Kashmir has been without elected government since losing its special status in 2019
  • Modi claims the change has ushered in a new era of peace and economic progress to the dispute region
Updated 10 min 15 sec ago
AFP
Follow

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Narendra Modi said “terrorism is on its last legs” in Kashmir while campaigning in the disputed territory on Saturday, a day after two soldiers were killed in a gunfight with suspected militants.
Indian-administered Kashmir has seen a rise in clashes between rebels and security forces ahead of the region’s first local assembly polls in a decade, which begin next week.
The Himalayan region in India has been without an elected local government since 2019, when Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government canceled the region’s semi-autonomy.
“The changes in the region in the last decade are nothing short of a dream,” Modi told thousands of supporters at the rally in Doda, part of Kashmir’s Hindu-majority southern region of Jammu.
“The stones that were picked up earlier to attack the police and the army are now being used to construct a new Jammu and Kashmir. This is a new era of progress, terrorism is on its last leg here,” he said.
Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claim that the government’s changes to the territory’s governance have brought a new era of peace to Kashmir and rapid economic growth.
The implementation of those changes in 2019 was accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long Internet and communications blackout to forestall protests.
Many Kashmiris are resentful of chafing restrictions on civil liberties that followed, and the BJP is only fielding candidates in a minority of seats concentrated in Hindu-majority areas.
Modi pledged at Saturday’s rally that his party would “build a secure and prosperous” Kashmir “that is free of terrorism and a haven for tourists.”
But this year’s local polls, which begin on Wednesday before results are announced next month, follow a spike in gunfights between security forces and rebels.
In the past two years, more than 50 soldiers were killed in clashes with rebels, mostly in the Jammu region.
The Indian army on Friday said that another two soldiers had died Friday during a firefight in the Kishtwar region, paying tribute to the “supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts” in a post on social media platform X.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947 and is claimed in full by both countries.
Rebels have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.
About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels since 1989.
India accuses Pakistan of backing the region’s militants and cross-border attacks inside its territory, claims Islamabad denies.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought several conflicts for control of the region since 1947.

Topics: India Election Indian PM Narendra Modi

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad
Updated 3 min 50 sec ago
Follow

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad
  • Afghanistan’s new ‘vice and virtue’ law bars women from raising their voice in public
  • International debates on Afghan women’s rights rarely include those living in Afghanistan
Updated 3 min 50 sec ago
MODASER ISLAMI

KABUL: With a new Taliban law banning women from raising their voice in public, female activists in Afghanistan claim they are also being silenced in the West, where their representation is increasingly dismissed.
Regulations issued last month by the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice introduced stricter dress codes for all Afghans, but the restrictions stipulated that women not only cover themselves completely, including the face, but also conceal their voices in public.
“The government has practically ignored the voice of women and is seeking to eliminate as much of the role of women in society as possible,” Haida Akbari, a women rights activist in Kabul, told Arab News.
“The ban on women’s voices is one of the steps toward the elimination of women’s social role — neither the first nor the last.”
The rights of Afghan women have been curtailed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, when US-led forces withdrew after two decades of war following the invasion of the country.
Women and girls have been gradually barred from attending secondary school and university, undertaking most forms of paid employment, and attending public spaces such as public parks or gyms.
Each of the restrictions has spurred condemnation and sparked debate in the West. But while these are aimed at defending the rights of women, they rarely include the voices of those facing the reality of life inside Afghanistan.
In recent discussions on the impact of the new “vice and virtue” law, a Canadian broadcaster sought a comment from a former Afghan minister, a former member of parliament, and a former government official — all living in exile.
Another international media outlet focused its coverage on comments by a male activist, and while it also invited three Afghan women to comment, not one was living in Afghanistan.
For Akbari and other female activists, such practices further erode their representation and struggle for empowerment.
“There is no doubt that a woman living inside Afghanistan who wants to continue her life inside the country is very different from someone who is outside the country,” Akbari said.
“Women inside the country want the problem to be solved, but that does not mean welcoming another war in the country ... These issues are not covered in the media.”
Adina Ranjber, director of a women-led organization OTUF, which provides skill development and employment opportunities for women in Afghanistan, said it was important that international forums offer a voice to Afghan women, especially when they were being silenced at home.
“Women’s views and demands in the country are often ignored and suppressed. It seems that there is still a long way to go for Afghan women’s views to be heard and considered. There’s a need for continued support from the international community and the media,” she told Arab News.
“Representation of women from Afghanistan in human rights discussions demonstrates respect for human rights and gender equality. This can help create a more just and equal society for both women and men.”
Ranjber said that it is not only the West that is contributing to the voices of Afghan women being sidelined on international platforms.
“One of the most important factors in the neglect of women in Afghanistan is the silence of Islamic countries and the world Muslim scholars’ unions about the issues of women in Afghanistan,” she said.
“This also gives the Western media an excuse to ignore Afghan women and add to the problem instead of solving anything.”

Topics: Afghanistan Taliban

Related

Taliban frees Afghans deported from Germany
World
Taliban frees Afghans deported from Germany
Unwanted history as Afghanistan-New Zealand test match is rained out after 5 days of trying
Sport
Unwanted history as Afghanistan-New Zealand test match is rained out after 5 days of trying

Russian forces take over village in eastern Ukraine, TASS says

Russian forces take over village in eastern Ukraine, TASS says
Updated 14 September 2024
Reuters
Follow

Russian forces take over village in eastern Ukraine, TASS says

Russian forces take over village in eastern Ukraine, TASS says
Updated 14 September 2024
Reuters

Russia said on Saturday it had recaptured another village in eastern Ukraine, where it has made a string of advances.
“The locality of Jelannoe Pervoe (Jelanne Perche in Ukrainian) was freed thanks to the active and decisive operations of the southern units,” the defense ministry said.
The village is located in the Pokrovsk district, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army.
Russian forces has advanced rapidly in the eastern region of Donetsk in recent weeks, putting pressure on a Ukrainian army that is short of both soldiers and weapons.

Topics: Russia Ukraine

Related

Stoltenberg says NATO could have done more to prevent Ukraine war, FAS reports
World
Stoltenberg says NATO could have done more to prevent Ukraine war, FAS reports
In Belarus, the native language is vanishing as Russian takes prominence
World
In Belarus, the native language is vanishing as Russian takes prominence

Uganda holds funeral for murdered Olympian Cheptegei

Uganda holds funeral for murdered Olympian Cheptegei
Updated 14 September 2024
AFP
Follow

Uganda holds funeral for murdered Olympian Cheptegei

Uganda holds funeral for murdered Olympian Cheptegei
Updated 14 September 2024
AFP

BUKWO: Ugandans on Saturday paid tributes to Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after her partner set her on fire in Kenya, ahead of her funeral in her family village.
The 33-year-old, who debuted this summer in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, succumbed to severe burns last week after being attacked by Kenyan Dickson Ndiema Marangach.
The brutal assault shocked the East African region and prompted a global outpouring of tributes, with activists condemning another act of gender-based violence in Kenya.
On Saturday morning, residents, officials and relatives waited in the cold morning light to pay their respects in the village of Bukwo, some 380 kilometers (240 miles) northeast of Uganda’s capital Kampala.
“We are extremely saddened,” said her estranged husband Simon Ayeko, with whom she had two daughters.
“As a father it has been very difficult,” he told AFP, explaining he had not been able to break the news to their children.
“Slowly we will tell them the truth.”
The service to honor Cheptegei, a sergeant in the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces, started around 10:00 am (0700 GMT), with officials and relatives gathering at the local council office.
The athlete was a “heroine” Bessie Modest Ajilong, the local presidential representative, told AFP.
Cheptegei’s body would move from local council headquarters, organizers said, to a nearby sports stadium so that the public could pay their respects. She will then be formally laid to rest at around 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT).
Scores of athletes have traveled to the small village to attend the ceremonies.
“She greatly contributed to the promotion of athletics until her last days,” coach Alex Malinga, who trained her as a teenager, told AFP.
Local media say Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the attack. Police said Marangach snuck into her home while she was at church with her children.
Her family say the couple had argued over ownership of the property where she lived with her sister Dorcas Cherop and daughters.
Her attacker later died from injuries sustained in the assault.
“I think at that time, their relationship had become sour,” Cheptegei’s brother-in-law, Moses Kipsiro, told AFP.
“I didn’t know then something was wrong,” said Kipsiro, who previously trained with Cheptegei and also hails from Bukwo.
The vicious assault has thrown yet another spotlight on what activists have called a femicide epidemic.
Kenya reported 725 femicide cases in 2022 alone, according to the latest UN figures.
A report the following year by Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics found 34 percent of women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
At least two other athletes, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, have lost their lives in domestic violence incidents since 2021.

Topics: Uganda Kenya athelete crime Funeral

Comoros president ‘slightly injured’ in a knife attack, his office says

Comoros president ‘slightly injured’ in a knife attack, his office says
Updated 14 September 2024
AP
Follow

Comoros president ‘slightly injured’ in a knife attack, his office says

Comoros president ‘slightly injured’ in a knife attack, his office says
  • President Azali Assoumani’s injuries were not serious and he had returned to his home
  • Assoumani was reelected as president of Comoros in January in a vote denounced by opposition parties as fraudulent
Updated 14 September 2024
AP

MORONI, Comoros: The president of the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros was “slightly injured” in a knife attack while attending the funeral of a religious leader on Friday, his office said.
President Azali Assoumani’s injuries were not serious and he had returned to his home, his office said in a statement. It said the attacker was arrested by security forces and is in their custody, but gave no details on the attacker’s identity or any more information on the circumstances of the attack.
Government minister Aboubacar Said Anli said Saturday that a civilian was also injured during the attack while attempting to protect the president.
Assoumani was reelected as president of Comoros in January in a vote denounced by opposition parties as fraudulent. At least one person died in unrest following the election. Assoumani, 65, is a former military leader who first came to power in Comoros in a coup in 1999.
The country, which is made up of an archipelago of islands off the east coast of Africa, has experienced more than a dozen coups or attempted coups since its independence from France in 1975.

Topics: comoros

Related

Comoros president arrives in Madinah
Saudi Arabia
Comoros president arrives in Madinah
Comoros Islands and the secret and subversive Iranian connection
Middle-East
Comoros Islands and the secret and subversive Iranian connection

WHO clears Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine for mpox, sets up access scheme

WHO clears Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine for mpox, sets up access scheme
Updated 14 September 2024
Reuters
Follow

WHO clears Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine for mpox, sets up access scheme

WHO clears Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine for mpox, sets up access scheme
  • WHO has faced criticism for moving too slowly on mpox vaccines
  • Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine has been used worldwide since 2022
Updated 14 September 2024
Reuters

LONDON: The World Health Organization and partners on Friday set up a scheme to help bring mpox vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries, similar to efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, after earlier approving the first shot for the fast-spreading disease.
Both steps should make it easier for badly-hit African countries to access the vaccine, as a new type of the mpox virus spreads from the Democratic Republic of Congo to its neighbors. The WHO has declared the outbreak a global public health emergency.
“Alongside other public health interventions, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics are powerful tools for bringing the mpox outbreaks in Africa under control,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He said COVID-19 had shown the need for international collaboration to make access fairer. During the pandemic, many low-income countries were left behind in the global scramble for medical resources, particularly vaccines.
European countries, the United States and Japan have already pledged to donate 3.6 million doses of the two main vaccines used against mpox, the WHO said on Friday. Vaccinations are due to start from Oct. 2 with the first tranches of donations.
The WHO urged more countries to donate shots that were originally developed and stockpiled by rich nations for smallpox, and said it would work with affected countries to get them to the people at highest risk.
Earlier on Friday, the WHO said it had approved Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine, known as Jynneos in the United States. It is also considering LC16, made by the Japanese manufacturer KM Biologics.
The approval, known as prequalification, means UN agencies can now buy the vaccines as well as help co-ordinate donations. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, co-funds vaccine purchases for low-income countries in this way and has up to $500 million to spend on mpox.
DELAYS
The WHO has faced criticism for moving too slowly on mpox vaccines.
Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine has been used worldwide since 2022, after US and European regulators backed it for use against a different strain of mpox that spread globally in 2022.
The WHO only formally began the process in August this year. Other factors, including the roughly $100 price tag for the vaccine, competing disease outbreaks, and sluggish processes in badly-hit countries like Congo have also played a role.
“The evidence we have now is... it is important we take advantage of it (the vaccine) to protect our population,” Dimie Ogoina, chair of the WHO’s mpox emergency committee, had said before the approval.
He however stressed that vaccines were not a “magic bullet” and other public health measures were also important.
‘OFF-LABEL’ USE IN CHILDREN
Bavarian Nordic said the vaccine was cleared for immunization against smallpox, mpox, and related orthopoxvirus in those who are 18 and older, but it could be used “off-label” for children and pregnant and immunocompromised people in outbreak conditions, where the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks. LC16 can already be given to children, according to the Japanese regulator, although it requires a special kind of needle.
Children are particularly vulnerable to mpox, a viral infection that typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesions, as well as people with immune system conditions, such as HIV.

Topics: WHO World Health Organization (WHO) Mpox vaccine

Latest updates

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad
Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad
COP29 president calls for united action on climate finance goals
COP29 president calls for united action on climate finance goals
Startup of the Week – US-based SambaNova sets sights on Saudi market
Startup of the Week – US-based SambaNova sets sights on Saudi market
Saudi Arabia’s bold recycling plan will see it become a world-leader, experts believe
Saudi Arabia’s bold recycling plan will see it become a world-leader, experts believe
EEC’s capital optimization plan to shore up financial position and sustain growth: CEO
EEC’s capital optimization plan to shore up financial position and sustain growth: CEO

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.