Doha, 26 April 2020 (QNA)

Arabic Daily Al-Watan said that State of Qatar is dealing with the issue of the unjust blockade that was denounced and condemned by international legal institutions and human rights organizations throughout the world, according to a correct political and diplomatic approach, which earned it the admiration of the world and its confidence in Qatar's policies.

Observers have always praised the success of Qatar's steps and procedures when it came to the unjust blockade, the newspaper said. The political analysts and political observers at the international level have always pointed out to Qatar's right to demand the international community, through its legitimate institutions, to be fair and stand by its side.

Daily Al Watan added that the State of Qatar renewed the call to end the unjust and unlawful blockade imposed on it, stressing the failure of the considerations upon which the blockading countries relied on to undermine the State of Qatar and its sovereign decision, and the failure of the policies that depended on the separation of brotherly people. Moreover, the newspaper indicated that these policies have affected regional solidarity and cooperation which became more necessary in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19).

Al-Watan explained that the crisis created by the blockading countries is one of the crises that further complicated the situation in the region, according to the statement made by the Permanent Representative of State of Qatar to United Nation,  Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, in writing to the UN Security Council, which held a virtual meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.

Sialkot (Pakistan), 26 April 2020 (APP)

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Sunday said the forensic audit report of the inquiry into the wheat flour and sugar crisis would be made public, apprising the people of all the facts and figures.

She rejected the allegations levelled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif about delay in the presentation of report. It was in fact a “cheap effort” by the opposition leader to keep himself in news.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, she said, believed in an across the board accountability and that was why he had formed a commission to unmask the real faces behind the crisis. No one from the PM’s family was a beneficiary of the subsidy given for the export of sugar, she said while addressing a press conference here.

Dr Firdous said the commission comprising officials from the responsible institutions had to carry out the forensic audit of the last three years, so it required more time to complete the process in the most transparent manner. Its request for three-week extension in the deadline for completing the audit would be presented before the cabinet for approval.

 

 

Ankara, 25 April 2020 (Anadolu News)

All corona-virus patients have been discharged from hospitals in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected last December, the country's health authority said Sunday.

Mi Feng, spokesman of the National Health Commission, said the number of hospitalized patients in the city was down to zero. However, a total of 11 cases were detected in the last 24 hours.

More than 4,600 people have died from the virus in the country, with the tally of cases above 82,000. The city had been under lock down for nearly three months to curb the spread of the virus. The restrictions were lifted earlier this month.

Globally, COVID-19, its official name, has infected more than 2.92 million people and claimed the lives of over 203,000 others, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Recoveries are over 828,400, the data shows.

25 April 2020 (Misc Media/AlJazeera)

Rumours have  swirled surrounding the health of North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's health following his noticeable absence from state media, official statements and public events in recent days.

The third-generation hereditary leader who came to power after his father's death in 2011 has no clear successor and it is unclear who would lead the nuclear-armed nation in the event of his incapacitation.

Speculation includes the theory that the controversial leader is isolating for fears of the coronavirus or that he is suffering from a serious injury or illness.

While there are no credible reports saying Kim has died, the hashtag #KIMJONGUNDEAD has trended on social media in recent days.  Kim, believed to be 36, has disappeared from coverage in North Korean state media before, most notably in 2014, when he vanished for more than a month. North Korean state television later showed him walking with a limp.

A special train possibly belonging to the North Korean leader was spotted this week at a resort town in the country, according to satellite images reviewed by a Washington, DC-based North Korea monitoring project, 38 North.

The group said in its report on Saturday the train was parked at the "leadership station"- reserved for the use of the Kim family - in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23.

North Korea's state media last reported on Kim's whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11. Four days later, Kim was absent from the birth anniversary of North Korea's founding father, his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.

Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, told the New York Times that Kim not making an appearance at his grandfather's mausoleum during the anniversary was "unthinkable" in the country, describing it as "the closest thing to blasphemy in the North".

North Korea has never announced who would follow leader Kim Jong Un in the event he is incapacitated. With no details known about his young children, analysts say his sister and loyalists could form a regency until a successor is old enough to take over.

He became the leader when his father, Kim Jong Il, died in 2011 from a heart attack. Kim Jong Il had been groomed for 20 years to lead the country, while Kim Jong Un had just more than a year to prepare, due to his father's sudden death from a heart attack.

In the last two years, Kim Jong Un's younger sister has been the most visible presence around the leader, serving formally as a vice director of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful Central Committee but unofficially as her brother's chief of staff.

Kim Yo Jong was named an alternate member of the party's Central Committee Politburo this month, continuing her climb through the leadership hierarchy.

The leader's sister, believed to be 31, has firm control of key party functions, setting herself to be the main source of power behind a collective leadership.

"Kim Yo Jong will be for the time being the main power base with control of the organisation and guidance department, the judiciary and public security," said Cho Han-bum of the Korea Institute for National Unification, a government-funded think-tank in Seoul.

Ankara/Srinagar, 25 April 2020 (Anadolou)

The corona-virus death toll in the US moved close to 52,000 and number of cases passed 905,000 on Saturday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The Maryland-based university's running counter showed 51,956 deaths, 905,364 cases, and 99,079 recoveries across the world’s hardest-hit country.

New York is the worst-hit state in the US with 21,264 deaths and 278,445 cases, followed by New Jersey with over 100,000 cases. The US has the highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, followed by Italy with 25,969 and Spain with 22,524.

The novel corona-virus has spread to 185 countries and regions since emerging in China last December.

More than 2.82 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll near 200,000 and recoveries close to 800,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

 

As per Anadolu News reporting, number of corona-virus cases in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir moved close to 500 on Saturday after the region’s highest single-day spike so far.

The overall count rose to 494 after 40 new cases were confirmed over the past 24 hours, according to a government update.

One more fatality raised the death toll to six, while recoveries increased by three to 112.

The COVID-19 patient who died early on Saturday was a 72-year-old man living in the northern Baramulla district.

 

Doha (Qatar), 22 April 2020 (Qatar Tribune)

By Ashraf Siddiqui

Russia and Qatar have been working for the joint development of a vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19), Russian Ambassador to Qatar HE Nurmuhammad Kholov has said.

“Russia and Qatar have been maintaining close cooperation since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. There’s an active work going on between the medical institutes of the two countries for the joint development of a vaccine,” the ambassador told Qatar Tribune.

He said the Qatari government institutes are also exploring the possibility of using the Russian test system for COVID-19, which gives results within 2-4 hours.
The Russian test system for coronavirus detection has already been sent to 13 countries. “We highly appreciate the emergency measures undertaken by the Qatari leadership to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We note the high professionalism of the Qatari doctors, and the authorities concerned who work around the clock and selflessly for the well-being of Qatar’s citizens and residents,” the ambassador said.

The envoy paid his gratitude to the Qatari authorities, especially Qatar Airways, for organising accommodation, meals and charter flights for groups of Russian citizens to Moscow and St Peterburg in the beginning of April 2020.

The Russian envoy said the friendly relations between Russia and Qatar will continue to develop steadily. “Our country is committed to further strengthening relations with Qatar in different fields,” he said, adding that there is regular dialogue between heads of the states on a wide range of issues.

He said on February 23 this year, a visa-waiver agreement between Russia and Qatar came into force, which will hopefully boost the tourism sector.
On the important role of World Health Organization in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the ambassador said, “The whole world is facing a serious threat from the coronavirus. Despite urgent measures taken by the international community, the number of cases and deaths continue to grow steadily. In our opinion, the current situation has confirmed the importance of developing and following a collective strategy to combat the pandemic, and to provide assistance to states that need emergency support.”

Despite some shortcomings by WHO at the very beginning of the epidemic, he said, the organization’s role remains relevant as never before as it remains key to providing relevant information on combating COVID-19.

He said Russia and Qatar are among the first to come up with an initiative to assist other countries in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of March, under the directions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, military mobile aviation aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered eight mobile teams of Russian military virologists and doctors, automotive complexes for aerosol disinfection of transport and territory, as well as medical equipment to Italy. Several military medical teams were also sent to Serbia.

From the beginning of April, Russian specialists are sharing their experience and organising training courses for Serbian medics working directly with coronavirus patients, as well as providing assistance in treatment and quarantine measures.

The Russian envoy lauded the role of Qatar in sending medical staff and two field hospitals to Italy. Virology institutes in Qatar and Italy are conducting joint research on the virus genome and the development of effective drugs.

“We can overcome difficulties and defeat the coronavirus by joint efforts,” he concluded.

 

Doha, April 21, 2020

 

The Amir of State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani expressed his condolence to President of Portuguese Republic on the death of Portuguese envoy to Qatar Ricardo Pracana. It was reported on Tuesday by Qatar News Agency.

The envoy has presented his credentials to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Sa'ad AlMuraikhi on 10th of March 2019 (Picture attached).

In a group foto, late ambassador is seen with envoys of EU States at an event recently held.

 

Editor asiantelegraphqatar.com extends his heartfelt condolence to the Portuguese embassy officials, his family members and members of the diplomatic corp in Qatar.

 

Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, 20 April 2020 (Anadolu News)

Indian authorities on Monday booked a Kashmiri photojournalist under a draconian law for her Facebook post, a move criticized for violating the right to free speech in the world’s largest democracy.

“Cyber police station received information through reliable sources that one Facebook user Masrat Zahra is uploading anti national posts with criminal intention to induce the youth and to promote offences against public tranquility,” according to a statement issued by the police.

Zahra has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Section 505 of Indian Penal Code. If convicted, she could face up to seven years in jail.

Zahra, 26, told Anadolu Agency that she was summoned to the cyber police station on Tuesday.

The case has drawn an online protest from Kashmiri journalists who sent out a tweet: “Masarat Zehra, a professional photojournalist, has honestly told stories of Kashmir in 4-year career. Invoking UAPA is outrageous. In solidarity with our colleague, we demand FIR withdrawn. Journalism isn’t crime. Intimidation/ censorship won’t silence Kashmir’s journalists.”

In a statement, the Kashmir Press Club said the “government, especially the police, need to understand there is a vast difference between journalism and cyber crime”.

On the other hand, police advised the public to refrain from circulating unauthentic information through social media platforms. The Network of Women in Media India, of which Zahra is a member, said the case against her should be withdrawn.

"The charges are preposterous in the extreme and amount to rank intimidation of a journalist who has won acclaim for her work, which documents the lived experiences of the people of Kashmir," said the group in a statement.

Disputed region

Jammu and Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts, and claimed by both in full. A small sliver is also held by China. Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965, 1971-- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan. According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.

Trenton, Canada, 20 April 2020 (Anadolu News)

A secret court document that came to light recently accuses India of surreptitious attempts to influence Canadian politicians with money and fabricated information.

Canadian officials will not comment on the allegations made in the document; however, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s department did say that the government was “concerned when any country shows destabilizing behaviour, including interference in other countries’ democratic systems.”

Two Indian intelligence services – the Research and Analysis Wing and the Intelligence Bureau – are alleged to have perpetrated the campaign through an Indian national that began as far back as 2009, according to the document.

The document, obtained by Canada’s Global News and dated March 31, 2020, said the initiative aimed to influence politicians to further the interests of the government of India.

Specifically, an Indian is accused by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service of spying and the document was included in a federal court filing where the man is attempting to have a judicial review of the decision to deny him permanent resident status in Canada. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is defending its decision.

The man is referred to as “A.B” in the filing and he is the editor of an Indian newspaper that is not identified. Both his wife and son are Canadian.

According to the document, the man is alleged to have had at least two dozen clandestine contacts with Indian intelligence agents, with the latest being in May 2015 – not long after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a trip to Canada.

But A.B. said he only met the agents in his official capacity as editor of a newspaper and denied there were any nefarious reasons behind the contact.

During an interview with the High Commission of Canada in New Delhi Dec. 2, 2015 concerning his permanent status request, the document says he was given a procedural letter.  “The letter alleged that he may be inadmissible to Canada…because he has cooperated with the Indian Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing and had engaged in espionage against Canada,” according to the document.

On July 10, 2018, A.B. was officially refused his permanent resident request because he was “inadmissible on security grounds.” In the document, the immigration officer explained his reasons for rejecting A.B.’s application.

“I find that there are reasonable grounds to believe that you were tasked by a foreign intelligence agency to covertly influence Canadian government representatives, including through guidance to provide financial assistance to politicians in order to exert influence over them, and that you met with representatives of this foreign intelligence agency more than 25 times over a six-year period after you were tasked with such activities.”

A.B. admitted being requested to do functions for the two agencies but that he refused to “act as an official lobbyist or diplomat.” According to the document, one of this tasks was he was “to convince politicians that funding from Canada was being sent to Pakistan to support terrorism.”

Justice Simon Fothergill presided over the case and found in favor of A.B.’s request. “The application for judicial review is allowed, and the matter is remitted to a different visa officer for re-determination,” the judge concluded.

Trenton, Canada, 20 April 2020 (Anadolu News)

 

The death toll in the weekend mass shooting in Canada is now “in excess of 19 victims,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at a press conference Monday.

Authorities fear there are more because they are looking at 16 crime scenes as the shooter, who police eventually shot dead, drove through in a series of small towns across the province of Nova Scotia, killing people as he went.

It is Canada’s worst mass murder, surpassing the 14 women shot to death in Montreal in Dec. 6, 1989.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau devoted his daily COVID-19 address Monday to the tragedy. “For the grandparents who lost a child, the children who lost a parent, the neighbour who lost a friend, we are so sorry for your loss,” the prime minister said. “Such a tragedy should never have occurred. Violence of any kind has no place in Canada.”

Trudeau also asked that media not name the gunman or use his picture.  “Do not give him the gift of infamy,” he said.

The killer was a successful denturist – a person who fixes dentures – in the small town of Portapique, Nova Scotia, population 300.

He was dressed in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police outfit although he was not a member of the force and drove a car that had been made to look like an RCMP vehicle. However, he changed vehicles, stealing other cars as his original vehicle became undriveable.

One of the victims was an RCMP officer, Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the force and mother of two. Other victims include a teacher and nurse, but police are not officially providing names of the victims until they are identified by the medical examiner. Police fear more victims will be uncovered as they probe all the crime scenes, including five structure fires set by the killer.

What makes the tragedy worse, Trudeau said, is because of the pandemic there can be no funerals or vigils. However, he said there will be a virtual vigil Friday on Facebook.

Why a small-town denturist who was successful and apparently well liked would go on a murder spree is unfathomable, Trudeau said. “We may never know why,” he said.