France defends restrictions on Israeli firms supplying Middle East wars and says it’s not a boycott

France's government on Tuesday defended its decision to bar Israeli companies supplying the wars in the Middle East from exhibiting at an upcoming trade fair outside Paris. (X/@MarioNawfal)

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Updated 22 October 2024

October 22, 2024 19:06

France defends restrictions on Israeli firms supplying Middle East wars and says it’s not a boycott

Addressing parliament Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the policy doesn’t amount to a boycott of Israeli firms
He also said it would be “incoherent” for France to allow the promotion of weapons used in the wars when Paris is also pushing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon

Updated 22 October 2024

October 22, 2024 19:06

PARIS: France’s government on Tuesday defended its decision to bar Israeli companies supplying the wars in the Middle East from exhibiting at an upcoming trade fair outside Paris.
Organizers of the Nov. 4-Nov. 7 naval defense exhibition, called Euronaval, posted on the event’s website that Israeli firms can take part in the show and “may have an exhibition stand, provided that their products are not used in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.”
The organizers attributed the restrictions to French government decisions taken earlier this month.
Addressing parliament Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the policy doesn’t amount to a boycott of Israeli firms.
But he also said it would be “incoherent” for France to allow the promotion of weapons used in the wars when Paris is also pushing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
“Therefore, we have indicated to the Israeli authorities, with whom we communicate very regularly, that the participation in the form of stands by companies should respect this balance,” Barrot said.
“Also, companies whose equipment is not used in offensive actions in Gaza and Lebanon will naturally be able to have stands at the exhibition,” he said.
In a post Sunday on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz urged French President Emmanuel Macron to rescind the restrictions, calling them “unacceptable” and “anti-democratic.”
“France, as well as the entire Western world, should stand with us — not against us,” Katz posted.
Barrot reiterated that France supports Israel’s right to defend itself. The minister cited, as an example, France’s decision to continue exporting components that he said are used in Israel’s “Iron Dome” air-defense system.
“On the other hand, it would be incoherent to enable any promotion of weapons used in Gaza and Lebanon, which lead to unacceptable damage for the civilian populations, when this government and our country is calling for an immediate ceasefire,” the French minister said.

Topics: France Euronaval defence show Israel

UN to hold high-level conference on Rohingya crisis next year

Updated 24 sec ago

SHEHAB SUMON

November 21, 2024 16:17

UN to hold high-level conference on Rohingya crisis next year

New UNGA resolution was tabled by OIC and EU, co-sponsored by 106 countries
Muhammad Yunus previously urged international community to help solve Rohingya crisis

Updated 24 sec ago

SHEHAB SUMON

November 21, 2024 16:17

DHAKA: The UN General Assembly has adopted an Organization of Islamic Cooperation-sponsored resolution to hold a high-level conference next year to discuss solutions for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and propose a timeframe to repatriate more than 1.2 million of the refugees from camps in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has hosted Rohingya refugees for decades, including the hundreds of thousands who fled Myanmar in 2017 to escape a brutal military crackdown and persecution.

They have since settled in squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar district, a coastal region in the country’s southeast that has become the world’s largest refugee settlement.

The third committee of the UNGA adopted the resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar by consensus on Wednesday.

Tabled by the OIC and the EU, the resolution that was co-sponsored by 106 countries decided to hold an all-stakeholder high-level international conference in 2025, aimed at reviewing the overall crisis and proposing a sustainable resolution.

“For us and for the sake of regional as well as international security, creating conditions for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar is of utmost importance,” Bangladesh permanent representative to the UN, ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, said after the resolution was adopted.

It follows an appeal made by the chief adviser of Bangladesh’s caretaker government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, at the 79th UNGA in September, where he called for support from the international community to assist the Rohingya.

“We remain committed to supporting the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar in Bangladesh. We need continued support of the international community toward the Rohingyas in carrying out the humanitarian operations and their sustainable repatriation,” Yunus said.

The return of the Rohingya to Myanmar has been on the agenda for years, but a UN-backed repatriation process had yet to take off until now, despite pressure from Bangladesh and international organizations.

The planned conference is taking place at a crucial time as refugee issues are rising in other parts of the world, said Dhaka-based migration expert, Asif Munir.

“Rohingya refugees issue needs more global attention at the moment as it requires more funds to manage this huge number of population,” Munir told Arab News on Thursday.

He estimated that about 40,000 children were born in the camps every year, while new refugees continued to flee Myanmar’s Rakhine State to escape the conflict.

“There are several priority concerns for Bangladesh, which include mitigating the dwindling financial crisis (and) finding a durable solution either in the form of a safe zone or third country resettlement,” he said.

The conference next year should also address the situation in Rakhine, where fighting has intensified between Myanmar’s ruling junta and the opposition ethnic-minority Arakan Army, amid rising concerns that the violence would trigger a new wave of refugees seeking safety in Bangladesh.

“Currently, human rights, protection, etc., are at stake in Myanmar,” Munir said. “In this context, what should be the role and commitment of the global leaders? This issue needs to be discussed in this upcoming high-level meeting.”

Topics: Myanmar Bangladesh Rohingya

Serbia arrests 11 over railway station roof collapse

Updated 21 November 2024

Reuters

November 21, 2024 10:14

Serbia arrests 11 over railway station roof collapse

The concrete awning of the recently renovated roof caved in on November 1
Opposition leaders and the public have taken to the streets repeatedly

Updated 21 November 2024

Reuters

November 21, 2024 10:14

BELGRADE: Prosecutors in the Serbian city of Novi Sad have arrested 11 people in connection with the collapse of a railway station roof this month that killed 15 people and sparked a wave of protests.
The concrete awning of the recently renovated roof caved in on Nov. 1, killing 14 and injuring three. One of those hurt died of their injuries on Sunday.
Opposition leaders and the public have taken to the streets repeatedly, blaming the accident on government corruption and nepotism that resulted in shoddy construction.
The ruling coalition denies those charges, but President Aleksandar Vucic said those responsible must be held to account. The transport, construction and infrastructure minister, the trade minister and the head of state-run Serbian Railways have all resigned over the incident.
Novi Sad’s High Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that the 11 were arrested on suspicion of committing criminal acts against public safety. The statement only provided the initials of those arrested.
One set of initials on the list was GV. Local media reported that Goran Vesic, the former transport, construction and infrastructure minister, was among those arrested.
Vesic denied that in a Facebook post on Thursday, but said that he had met with law enforcement.
“I voluntarily responded to the call of police officers with whom I came to Novi Sad and made myself available to the investigative authorities,” the post said.
Opposition deputies protested in front of a courthouse in Novi Sad for the third consecutive day on Thursday, demanding that those responsible for the disaster face justice.
They also demanded that activists arrested in an anti-government protest over the disaster be released immediately.

Topics: Serbia

UN: Nearly 40% of 3.4 million displaced in Myanmar are children

Updated 21 November 2024

AFP

November 21, 2024 07:30

UN: Nearly 40% of 3.4 million displaced in Myanmar are children

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021
The fighting, as well as severe climate events like Typhoon Yagi, have had a ‘devastating impact’ on children

Updated 21 November 2024

AFP

November 21, 2024 07:30

WASHINGTON: Children made up nearly 40 percent of the more than 3.4 million people in Myanmar displaced by civil war and climate change-driven extreme weather, the UN agency for children said Thursday.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021 and launched a crackdown that sparked an armed uprising against the junta’s rule.
The Southeast Asian nation was also battered by Typhoon Yagi in September, triggering major floods that killed more than 400 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
“The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is reaching a critical inflexion point, with escalating conflict and climate shocks putting children and families at unprecedented risk,” UNICEF deputy executive director Ted Chaiban said in a statement on Thursday.
“Over 3.4 million people have been displaced across the country, nearly 40 percent of whom are children.”
The junta is battling widespread armed opposition to its 2021 coup, and its soldiers have been accused of bloody rampages and using air and artillery strikes to punish civilian communities.
The fighting, as well as severe climate events like Typhoon Yagi, have had a “devastating impact” on children, Chaiban said, leaving them displaced, vulnerable to violence and cut off from health care and education.
He said seven children and two other civilians were killed on November 15 in a strike that hit a Kachin church compound where children were playing football.
Myanmar’s northern Kachin state is the homeland of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the various ethnic minority armed groups that hold territory in the north and are battling the junta.
At least 650 children have been killed or wounded in violence in the country this year.
Minors also made up about a third of the more than 1,000 civilian casualties from land mines and explosive remnants of war, according to Chaiban.
“The increasing use of deadly weapons in civilian areas, including airstrikes and land mines hitting homes, hospitals, and schools, has severely restricted the already limited safe spaces for children, robbing them of their right to safety and security,” he said.
Eleven people were killed last week when a teashop in Myanmar was hit by a military air strike in the town of Naungcho in northern Shan state, a local ethnic armed group said.

Topics: Myanmar UN

Philippine woman saved from Indonesia death row ‘elated’

Updated 21 November 2024

AFP

November 21, 2024 06:05

Philippine woman saved from Indonesia death row ‘elated’

Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin
Her family and supporters said she was innocent and had been set up by an international drug syndicate

Updated 21 November 2024

AFP

November 21, 2024 06:05

INDONESIA: A Philippine woman sentenced to death in Indonesia on drug charges said Thursday that she was “elated” to be returning home, after a deal brokered between the two nations.
Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin and later sentenced to death by firing squad.
The mother-of-two’s case sparked an uproar in the Philippines, with her family and supporters saying she was innocent and had been set up by an international drug syndicate.
On Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said she would be handed over to Manila following years of “long and difficult” negotiations.
“I am very elated to hear there is an opening chance for my hope to return home and be with my family,” Veloso said in a written statement read by the prison warden Evi Loliancy on Thursday.
“I’m grateful and would like to thank everybody who keeps making efforts so I can return to my country,” she said.
The 39-year-old said she would utilize skills she has learned in prison, including local cloth-dying techniques, to earn money for herself and her family.
Veloso’s family maintained that she was duped into signing up for a non-existent job abroad as a domestic worker and was not aware the suitcase given to her by the recruiter contained hidden drugs.
The Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve for Veloso in 2015 after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested and put on trial for human trafficking in a case in which Veloso was named as a prosecution witness.
Indonesia’s law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said President Prabowo Subianto had “approved the transfer,” which is expected to happen next month.
Philippine leader Marcos on Wednesday posted a message thanking his Indonesian counterpart.
He said Veloso’s “story resonates with many: a mother trapped by the grip of poverty, who made one desperate choice that altered the course of her life.”

Topics: Philippines

ASEAN defense chiefs discuss regional security with US, China and other partner nations

Updated 21 November 2024

November 21, 2024 05:25

ASEAN defense chiefs discuss regional security with US, China and other partner nations

The US and China have been working to improve frayed military-to-military communications
ASEAN meetings come as member nations are looking warily toward the change in American administrations

Updated 21 November 2024

November 21, 2024 05:25

VIENTIANE, Laos: Southeast Asian defense chiefs met Thursday with China, the United States and other partner nations in Laos for security talks, which come as Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance in its claim to most of the South China Sea is leading to more confrontations.
The closed-door talks put US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in the same room a day after Dong refused a request to meet with Austin one-on-one on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meetings.
The US and China have been working to improve frayed military-to-military communications and Austin said he regretted Dong’s decision, calling it “a setback for the whole region.”
The ASEAN meetings come as member nations are looking warily toward the change in American administrations at a time of increasing maritime disputes with China. The US has firmly pushed a “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy under outgoing President Joe Biden and it is not yet clear how the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump will address the South China Sea situation.
In addition to the United States and China, other nations attending the ASEAN meeting from outside Southeast Asia include Japan, South Korea, India, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.
The meetings with the ASEAN dialogue partners were also expected address tensions in the Korean Peninsula, the Russia-Ukraine war, and wars in the Middle East.
Before heading to Laos, Austin concluded meetings in Australia with officials there and with Japan’s defense minister. They pledged to support ASEAN and expressed their “serious concern about destabilizing actions in the East and South China Seas, including dangerous conduct by the People’s Republic of China against Philippines and other coastal state vessels.”
Along with the Philippines, ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims with China in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely as its own territory.
Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are the other ASEAN members.
As China has grown more assertive in pushing its territorial claims in recent years, it and ASEAN have been negotiating a code of conduct to govern behavior in the sea, but progress has been slow.
Officials have agreed to try to complete the code by 2026, but talks have been hampered by thorny issues, including disagreements over whether the pact should be binding.
Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed repeatedly this year, and Vietnam in October charged that Chinese forces assaulted its fishermen in disputed areas in the South China Sea. China has also sent patrol vessels to areas that Indonesia and Malaysia claim as their exclusive economic zones.
Another thorny regional issue is the civil war and humanitarian crisis in ASEAN member Myanmar. The group’s credibility has been severely tested by the war in Myanmar, where the army ousted an elected government in 2021, and fighting has continued with pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic rebels.
More than a year into an offensive initiated by three militias and joined by other resistance groups, observers estimate the military controls less than half the country.
Myanmar military rulers have been barred from ASEAN meetings since late 2021, but this year the country has been represented by high-level bureaucrats, including at the summit in October.
At the defense meetings, the country is represented by Zaw Naing Win, director of the Defense Ministry’s International Affairs Department.
Meetings on Wednesday also discussed military cooperation, transnational haze, disinformation, border security and transnational crimes such as drugs, cyberscams and human trafficking, Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Thanathip Sawangsang said.

Topics: ASEAN US China

France defends restrictions on Israeli firms supplying Middle East wars and says it’s not a boycott

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France defends restrictions on Israeli firms supplying Middle East wars and says it’s not a boycott

France defends restrictions on Israeli firms supplying Middle East wars and says it’s not a boycott

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