Jeddah, 29 Apr. 2022 (Anadolu News)
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Thursday evening received Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with an official ceremony in the city of Jeddah.
The two held a closed-door meeting at Al-Salam Royal Palace.
Erdogan also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Earlier, the Turkish president arrived in Saudi Arabia for a two-day working visit.
Erdogan's plane landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah where he was welcomed by Khalid Al-Faisal, the emir of Mecca region.
Turkish Ambassador in Riyadh Fatih Ulusoy and Turkiye’s permanent representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Mehmet Metin Eker were also present.
The Turkish president is accompanied by first lady Emine Erdogan, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, and Treasury and Finance Minister Nurettin Nebati.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Commerce Minister Mehmet Mus, Deputy Chairman of Turkiye’s Justice and Development (AK) Party Binali Yildirim, head of National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan, and Communications Director Fahrettin Altun are also part of the delegation.
Turkish president arrives in Saudi Arabia on working visit
Turkiye and Saudi Arabia will start a “new era” to boost bilateral ties, Erdogan said on Thursday before his departure to Saudi Arabia.
“My visit (to Saudi Arabia) is the manifestation of our common will to start a new era of cooperation as two brotherly countries,” Erdogan told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport.
“It is in our common interest to increase our cooperation with Saudi Arabia in fields such as health, energy, food security, agricultural technologies, defense industry, and finance,” he said.
Erdogan also said that Turkiye strives to ensure regional peace and resolve problems via dialogue and diplomacy.
“I believe we will boost our ties in every field through our joint efforts,” he said, stressing “the potential especially in renewable and clean energy technologies.”
He said regional and international developments will also be on the agenda during his visit. “We express at every occasion that we place as much importance on the stability and security of our brothers in the Gulf region as our own.”
Erdogan also underlined the importance of “dialogue and cooperation” for the security and stability of the entire region as “threats are growing more and more complex.”
He also condemned recent drone and missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
In recent years Turkish-Saudi ties suffered due to foreign policy differences. Tensions rose following the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
25 April 2022
Foreign Minister of Cuba Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla has said that Washington has decided to exclude the Republic of Cuba from the preparations for the 9th Summit of the Americas to be held in Los Angeles on 8th to 10th June.
Addressing to local and international media, top Cuban diplomat said that US is presently exerting extreme pressures on numerous governments in the region which, privately and respectfully, oppose Ciban exclusion.
He said that the US government is deceiving public opinion and the governments of the hemisphere, saying it has not yet decided on the invitations.
He said 'I respectfully ask Secretary of State Blinken to say honestly whether Cuba will or will not be invited to the 9th Summit of the Americas'.
Parrilla said that according to the preparations for the event, the main topic will be public health and he must inform our people and international public opinion that at present negotiations regarding the real needs of the peoples in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, the structural cause of precarious public health systems that have tragic consequences and result in an extremely high number of deaths in our hemisphere (including in America) are taking place on an obfuscated basis with significant neoliberal elements and many gaps, and lack the substantive cooperation and basic funding to enable these repercussions to be addressed; that there is under negotiation at the moment, surreptitiously, a “Plan of Action” for public health and resilience in the Americas up to 2030.
'I must tell you that these negotiations are being held behind closed doors, with the exclusion of Cuba and other PAHO-WHO member states who participate in these processes in contravention of their own mandates', he added.
Je said that Cuba, always humbly but with altruism and persistence, has offered scope for international cooperation on matters of public health, a fact recognized worldwide. The Latin American anti-Covid vaccines are Cuban, the medical brigades combating the Covid emergency in the region, in the hemisphere, in over 50 countries on the planet, have been Cuban.
Cuba’s medical presence addressing previous natural disasters and epidemics, the provision of tens of thousands of medical study grants for Latin American, Caribbean and American young people on low incomes, the existence of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana, Operation Milagro which restored sight to millions of people on low incomes, Cuba’s ability to establish cooperation, transfer cutting-edge technology, contribute novel pharmaceutical products, vaccines and treatments, the readiness to share advanced protocols and drugs in the public health sphere, would be relevant, would be beneficial to our peoples, if taken into account in this process.
To the US itself, on numerous occasions, Cuba has proposed cooperation initiatives in the public health sphere. I recall the case of Haiti at various times, notably in the wake of hurricanes and earthquakes; in El Salvador, in Pakistan in disaster situations. We offered and set up cooperation with America in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak and with other countries in West Africa. Following the atrocities of September 11, 2001, the Republic of Cuba offered immediate medical cooperation, including plasma for the injured, antibiotics against the threat of anthrax; we supplied antibiotics to the then US interests section in Havana, offered equipment and personnel to operate the ultra-microanalytic system developed by Cuba for mass screenings also related to the anthrax outbreak. When the devastating hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Cuba also offered medical personnel and baptized its contingent with the name, now known the world over, of the young American fighter for Cuba’s independence, Henry Reeve.
American students have studied and still study medicine in Cuba, and in response to the recent, strange offer by Washington of a million anti-Covid vaccines when the country has already vaccinated the entire population, we offered the US government the opportunity to develop a triangular project with vaccines and medical personnel from both countries, to the benefit of the needy nations of our region, which to date has produced no reply from Washington.
The US sends troops rather than doctors; its pharmaceutical transnationals have made obscene profits from the Covid pandemic. COVAX, the mechanism launched by the US, has not achieved its objectives.
Washington has also made political use of its vaccines. In relation to Cuba, it has maintained the blockade, intensifying it to extremes during the pandemic, which it used as a tactical ally. The blockade prevented the importation of pulmonary ventilators at the time of peak demand for these, complicated the purchase of materials and supplies essential to the industrial scaling-up of the Cuban anti-Covid vaccines and it was clearly established during the crisis days for oxygen supply in our country at the peak time of the pandemic as a result of a breakdown of our main plant, and because to import oxygen from the US, specific licenses are needed and exceptions to the blockade have to be applied for, Cube received no offer from Washington in relation to the pandemic. This was no surprise, since the ruthless, cruel application of the blockade in the public health sphere has been one of the most questionable and disreputable aspects of the sanctions imposed on Cuba. I always remember, carry in my heart, the cases of Cuban children affected by the blockade, some at the cost of not being able to receive the appropriate treatment, or of suffering pain or having to be hospitalized for long periods. I recall the condemnations at the UN General Assembly against banning Cuba from obtaining Amplatzer pediatric catheterization devices. I recall the cases of Cuban children whose lives we could save but not their eyes, affected by retinoblastoma as a consequence of the blockade. I remember the cases of children including a girl who died recently at age 13 with bone cancer, who could not get extensible prostheses.
The blockade is stifling our economy, has moreover been accompanied by a shameless campaign by Washington against Cuba’s international medical cooperation operations, including putting pressure on third countries in an attempt to deprive them of these services.
At the summit they plan to exclude us from, another key topic proposed is emigration. In this case also, negotiations are under way behind the back of international, American, Latin American and Canadian public opinion, based on a document with a long title: "Letter of Understanding on Migration Management and Protection of Migrants". It’s a code that seeks to impose on the Latin American and Caribbean states an obligation to repress emigration, to absorb the migrants that the US decides to process beyond its shores, that contains elements reflecting America’s racist, xenophobic and exploitative view of our migrants, making no attempt whatever to address the real causes of migration but, yes, nonetheless to offer palliatives, inducements, funding and economic incentives to the countries sending migrants to America and closer to its borders to mitigate this process.
In Cuba’s case however, their recipe is extreme intensification of the blockade, causing privations for Cuban families, applying the terms of the shameless memorandum by US assistant secretary of state Mallory, who advocated measures “to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government”.
The blockade is the basic cause of the problems of our economy and the policy of maximum pressure applied by President Trump, maintained with the same rigor by President Biden, including the 243 extreme measures of recent years and the brutal tightening that took place in 2019, are factors that determine the problems facing our people on a daily basis, the privations they suffer, the shortages, the power outages, the lines at the stores, the transport problems, the prices.
I’m now going to reveal a the latest calculation, up to the first semester of 2021, of the losses caused by the economic, trade and financial sanctions imposed by the US on Cuba. At current prices, these amount to $150,410,000,000. Taking account of the depreciation of gold in the international market, these losses equate to $1,326,432,000,000: a billion plus 326,432 million dollars; for a small, underdeveloped economy like ours, over $12m a day, more than $365m a month is the impact of the blockade and its effects are only too clear in the daily lives of our families and as a factor in the emigration from Cuba, which like everywhere else is basically for economic reasons. But despite this fact, paradoxically and with complete cynicism, Washington’s policy on migration has been to cut off the regular channels of migration by Cubans to America, cut off the regular channels, cut off the safe channels and impede migration and the journeys of Cubans to the United States.
It is a different policy from that applied to any other country on the planet; it is selective and discriminatory. Washington is defaulting on its legal obligation under the migration accords, signed and in force, to grant at least 20,000 migrant visas annually. On implausible pretexts, it shut down consular services in Havana, obliging Cubans to travel to Guyana to obtain migrant visas at the exorbitant cost implied by this journey and the requirements arising there, in addition to a lengthy stay. The US has also cut off the routes to and from third countries, and followed a policy of imposing obstacles on transit countries and of reducing visas for Cuban citizens.
Washington has also severely restricted flights to Cuba, especially to destinations outside Havana, reducing the validity periods of visas and pursuing a policy of denying visas to Cuban travelers. The latest is that in recent months they have imposed on third countries requirements for transit visas that discriminate against Cuban travelers, while obliging them to reduce the number they issue.
Moreover, with its policy, propaganda, legal instruments and its own migratory practice, the US is encouraging illegal migration, privileged treatment and with blatant political manipulation to irregular Cuban migrants. The Cuban Adjustment Act remains in full force and also costs lives.
Their deceptive propaganda and constant political manipulation in the digital networks, especially by certain accounts of the State Department and the US Embassy in Havana, amount to constant incitement to irregular, disordered and unsafe emigration.
With this policy, Washington is deceiving Cubans wishing to emigrate. It is not the transit countries, it is the United States that has imposed the complications suffered by our travelers and migrants, even for arriving in or transiting through third countries in a regular manner.
It is paradoxical because, nonetheless, we have just had official talks on migration, which are unquestionably a good sign. The recognition in these by Washington of the full validity of the accords is without doubt correct and positive. The recognition by the US delegation at these talks that its government has defaulted on the migration accords, that it fell short on compliance, that it wishes to restore their observance, application and compliance are positive signs. Another is the restarting of consular services in Havana, although these are stated to be extremely limited, which is totally unfounded, but this inconsistent, contradictory policy of tightening the blockade and restricting migration, of purported hemispheric discussion of these topics while excluding Cuba, which says a great deal about them and prompts me to ask the US administration: When are you going to meet your commitment to grant 20,000 visas? How many visas are you going to issue to Cuban migrants in 2022? Why will the vast majority of these have to travel to Guyana? For how long will it be necessary to travel to a third country to get a migrant’s or traveler’s visa? What is happening about family reunification?
A third theme of the Summit of the Americas is democracy and human rights. In the secretive negotiations now taking place, the idea is to have the OAS certify all elections in the region. This is the same OAS of the coup in Bolivia and Washington’s intention was historically responsible for coups d’état in our region and responsible also for coups in recent decades against progressive governments.
How can you hold a summit focused on democracy having by arbitrary whim of the host country excluded certain Latin American and Caribbean countries? Could anyone think of anything more anti-democratic? The blockade on Cuba is a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of Cubans, of Cuban families in America and also of the Americans themselves.
Washington has no moral right whatever to hold itself up as a model in this respect or to criticize others. The rights to health, the population below the poverty line, the right to education, to food, the repressive policies against emigration, the lack of protection and care towards the low-income sectors, the repression of minorities, the restriction of trade union rights, the exploitation and repression of indigenous cultures, the inequalities of gender, the racism and the discrimination against African Americans, the police brutality and the more than a thousand deaths last year from police shootings, the exploitation of labor in the private jails, the violence and the firearms, the repression of reproductive rights and of the right to family planning, the wars, the secret prisons, the kidnappings, the extrajudicial executions and the use of torture.
The US is the only country not party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to the census on poverty in America, published by a youth affairs institution in 2019, over 10 million children (14.4%) live in poverty, half of that number in extreme poverty. 71% of the American children living in poverty are Black, 4.4 million children without medical care or insurance. According to the American institution concerned with the plight of young people serving life imprisonment without parole and the Juvenile Justice Center, there are currently 2,600 prisoners who were incarcerated for life when they were minors. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, there are currently 10,000 minors (under age 18) in American prisons. The American Civil Liberties Union reports that there are 60,000 persons under age 18 deprived of freedom in America. In 2021, and as an average of previous years, there were between 600,000 and 700,000 arrests of minors in the United States, per year, confirmed by the Children’s Defense Fund.
On democracy, Washington has little to show at this incomplete Summit, after the last presidential campaign, the last presidential elections, the assault on the Capitol, the politicians’ calls to sedition and the corruption of politics. I offer Washington the opportunity to discuss these issues on a bilateral, multilateral basis or even at the Summit itself and ask the State Department if it will allow the hemisphere’s civil society to participate without exclusions, or will they be those on the OAS’s list, which are NGOs funded by Washington, who will be allowed in at Los Angeles.
Will environmentalists, disarmament activists (including nuclear disarmament), pacifists, minorities, trade unionists, feminists, indigenous and popular movements be allowed to attend? I ask directly if the NGOs, if the representatives of the rich Cuban civil society will get visas to enable their participation?
The 9th Summit of the Americas could still be an inclusive occasion if, in conditions of equality, all the countries could debate, without exclusions and with sincere commitment, the most pressing problems facing the continent.
Cuba supports genuine efforts to promote dialogue, links and cooperation in Latin America - the America of Bolivar and Martí - and the United States, between the Community of Latin American & Caribbean States and the US government.
The predicted exclusion of Cuba would amount to a serious historic setback in comparison with the two preceding summits, in which we participated on an equal footing, with a firm, truthful, but always calm, respectful and constructive voice. Cuba was invited following emphatic calls by various Latin American and Caribbean governments to Washington, that it not impose the exclusion I now condemn.
It would be surprising if President Biden departed from the policy of the administration in which he was vice president, which for the first time invited Cuba to an even more amazing and paradoxical summit; if he departed from the policy of the Republican president Donald Trump, who also invited Cuba to the Lima summit. I assume he will have to explain that, to his electors.
The Summit’s host country has no right to dictate arbitrary exclusions. It would be a politically motivated decision with no foundation other than false accusations and the application of double standards, to obscure its true nature, associated with US internal and electoral politics.
We support the firm and legitimate decisions of Nicaragua’s Government of National Reconciliation and Unity, in withdrawing from the OAS and the Summit. We oppose the exclusion of any country and the participation of illegitimate or bogus representatives imposed by Washington.
The US administration should understand that the Latin American & Caribbean region has changed forever and there is no scope for restoring the Monroe Doctrine and panamericanist vision against which José Martí fought and against which we will continue to fight, with conviction and loyalty.
Cuba, which solidly defends the unity within the diversity of Latin America, is profoundly grateful to the peoples and governments who maintain a brave, noble stance in a spirit of solidarity, demanding of the US government that Cuba not be excluded from the 9th Summit of the Americas.
Doha, 24 Apr. 2022 (QT)
By Ashraf Siddiqui
A highly anticipated movie, ‘Parde Mein Rehne Do’ (Keep It Under Cover) starring Hania Aamir and Ali Rehman as the lead pair for the first time, will see its box office release in GCC states including Qatar on Thursday, May 5.
Talking to Qatar Tribune, Mohammad Assad Khan, CEO of Cinema Specialist Entertainment LLC, Qatar-based film distributors, said the movie will be shown in a number of cinema houses in Qatar including Felix and Novo Cinemas. He said four cinemas in Dubai will have the premier shows of ‘Parde Mein Rehne Do’. Talented director Wajahat Rauf’s fourth feature film, which is also set to release on Eid-ul-Fitr in theatres in Pakistan, looks immensely promising and is expected to pull a huge crowd on its release in the Gulf countries.
The cast includes ultra-talented lead pair Hania Aamir and Ali Rehman along with veteran actors Javed Sheikh, Saifee Hasan, and Noor ul Hassan, alongside Sonia Nazir, Hasan Raza, Sadia Faisal, Shafqat Khan, and Munazzah Arif. The movie is backed by a powerful soundtrack directed by Hassan Ali and Aashir Wajahat. ‘Parde Mein Rehne Do’ is likely to perform big at the box offices worldwide.
The plot of the movie addresses the serious issue of infertility faced by a lot of newly married couples in Pakistan, and around 26 percent of men younger than age 40 across the world as per some medical journals. The social issue is not talked about in countries of South East Asia and the Middle East.
The director, Wajahat Rauf has addressed this prevalent issue in his uniquely humorous way with the perfect choice of actors who have brilliantly portrayed the characters to life. The much celebrated director thinks the topic has been treated with respect both in terms of its gravity, and keeping the conservative viewer in mind.
“For me, ‘Parde Mein Rehne Do’ is a labour of love that addresses an important social issue. I hope to make more films that give out a positive message along with entertaining people,” he said.
‘Parde Mein Rehne Do’ is the fourth movie releasing under the banner of Showcase Films, a joint venture of the stellar husband wife duo Wajahat Rauf and Shazia Wajahat. Showcase Films has to its name, ‘Karachi Se Lahore’ (2015) -- the first Pakistani film that premiered in Hollywood, and its sequel ‘Lahore Se Aagey’ (2016) – the highest grossing film of the year, along with ‘Chhalawa’ (2019).
Washington DC, 04 April 2022
(Washington Post)
By Hamid Mir
Imran Khan, the 19th prime minister of Pakistan, has just plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis over the weekend, facing a parliamentary no-confidence vote that was set to remove him from office, Khan decided to sweep the pieces off the board by dissolving the National Assembly itself. His 18 predecessors failed to complete their five-year terms, most of them removed by the army or the courts. In contrast, this new crisis is entirely of Khan’s own making.
Yet I believe that, despite Khan’s attempts to subvert constitutional procedures, the country’s democratic institutions will prevail. The Supreme Court is deliberating over a solution to the impasse Khan has created, and the judges have a great opportunity to show that rule of law and the supremacy of the constitution offer the best solution to our problems. The army has shown that it’s prepared to stand aside and let the politicians resolve their problems through Parliament and the courts. A positive outcome would be a huge boost for the development of democracy in Pakistan.
The path that has brought us to this point is filled with twists and turns, but the essential point is clear enough: Opposition leaders such as Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif concluded that Khan was becoming a threat to the whole political system. They had watched with growing dismay as Khan — sometimes described as the “Pakistani Trump” — maneuvered to keep himself in power despite his mismanagement of the economy, his appetite for political confrontation, and his efforts to shift foreign policy away from the United States and toward authoritarian powers. (His ill-timed embrace of Vladimir Putin just as Russia was invading Ukraine is a case in point — though probably motivated less by deep ideological conviction than by an ill-formed desire to provoke old allies in the West.) They came to believe that Khan was pursuing a grand plan to move from parliamentary government to a presidential system — a serious blow to what remains of the country’s democratic institutions.
For many in Islamabad and around the country, that would have been a step too far. The majority of Pakistanis might be ready to accept China as a friend but they don’t want a Chinese style system of one-party rule.
Zardari and Sharif finally decided to remove Khan through a constitutional process, taking advantage of the many former Khan allies alienated by his actions. When a no-confidence motion was announced by the joint opposition, Khan resorted to Donald Trump’s style of demagoguery. He publicly threatened Zardari, declaring him his “first target,” and went on to accuse his opponents of taking part in a foreign conspiracy. Strikingly, many of his own party’s members of parliament and political alliess refused to believe him. Instead, they revolted, accusing Khan of corruption.
All this is characteristic of Khan’s approach to power. He has systematically exploited religion and anti-Western sentiments to distract from his failures to control corruption and poverty.
He surrendered to violent groups but imprisoned liberal parliamentarians. His ministers shockingly declared their willingness to become suicide bombers to kill opposition leaders. He won the support of the pro-Iranian Lebanese militant group Hezbollah but created problems for his economic managers by threatening the European Union.
Perhaps most fatefully of all, Khan has also attacked the neutrality of the army — an exceedingly dangerous maneuver in a country where the military still enjoys enormous authority. His big mistake was to draw certain senior officers into his own political intrigues — in particular, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, a loyalist he named as head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in 2019. Hameed reciprocated by helping Khan survive an attempted no-confidence measure in the Senate (the upper house of the Pakistani Parliament) later that year.
But Hameed eventually overplayed his hand. His all-too-overt involvement in politics gradually alienated the public, and the rest of the military leadership soon distanced itself from the prime minister and his government. Even so, senior opposition leaders started telling me in January that they were worried that Khan might appoint Hameed as the new army chief in April 2022 — a huge power grab for the prime minister. They feared that the next election would be rigged by Khan’s loyalists. That factor, combined with the growing discontent among the opposition and some of Khan’s former allies, has contributed to the sequence of events that led up to the current crisis.
Even if Khan does fall from power this time, it’s too early to write him off completely. Just like with his American counterpart Trump, his political career is far from over. He will continue to use religion and anti-Western resentment to spread disinformation.
Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, is likely to become the next prime minister. Shehbaz Sharif, who enjoys wide support among the opposition parties, told me that his main task will be to implement reforms ensuring truly free and fair elections. He wants to form a broad-based unity government with parties from across the political spectrum.
If the opposition parties can remain united, there is real hope they can defeat Khan in the next election and fix many of the problems created by his terrible governance. But if they start fighting each other, Khan can be relied on to make the most of the opportunity.
Doha, 18 Apr. 2022
National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), Qatar in collaboration with Qatar Red Crescent Society recently organised two awareness seminars for the knowledge of senior management of industries / factories based in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Mesaieed Industrial City and Dukhan District.
Hamad Salem Al Hajri, Director, Programs and Education Department, NHRC said that the both seminars were within the framework of NHRC campaign ‘ Together We Work, I Have A Right And A Duty ‘ to raise awareness of human rights and enable employers and workers to know and enjoy their rights in accordance with the legislative developments in the country.
Al Hajri stressed that the campaign also aims to enhance the role of companies in solving the problems that prevent workers from effectively exercising their rights, and to identify any obstacles that may stand in the way of employers and workers enjoying their rights.
He said that around 100 managers representing more than 10 companies in Ras Laffan Industrial City participated in first seminar. Whereas, around 140 managers participated in second seminar from a number of factories based in Mesaieed Industrial City and 10 stations based in Dukhan.
He said that among the topics of discussions during seminars included Labour Law No. 14, dated 2014 and it’s provisions about which employer must have the knowledge.
Workers to know the rights of the employer specially in the event of transfer request of employee to any competitor company and any fees payment involved while transferring to the new employer which is mentioned and is part of the employee contract. Moreover, in case of transfer request to new employer, one month prior notice is required for a contract of two years and less, two months notice period is required if the contract tenure is above two years, Al Hajri added.
Topics discussed during the seminar also covered in situation of violating the terms of the contract or provisions of contract and leaves the country, the worker cannot come back to Qatar until one year from the date of departure.
The employee must leave the country within 90 days from the date of completion of his job or cancellation of his residence visa due to any reason or expiry of the residence visa.
The seminars also dealt with the procedure and means to resolve the labor disputes through Labour Department and Labour Dispute Resolution Committee.
The employer may not keep the worker’s travel document and it is not permissible to work without written and agreed agreement between both the employee and the employer duly certified the by Labour Department. The worker to obtain its contract copy which will be required in the event of any dispute.
He said that about the role of NHRC was also informed including working to the achieve the goals in international conventions related to human rights ratified by the state, expressing it's opinion on national legislation, it’s compatibility with the international human rights standards, and monitoring the human rights situation through visits and receiving complaints and petitions spreading awareness and education on human rights.
NHRC Director Programmes and Education expressed his happiness and satisfaction specially on interactive questions and answers session in both the seminar. He said that Q & A session made the event purposeful and in achieving the goals.
He was hopeful that NHRC efforts in creating awareness about importance of human rights and implementation on these will help in resolving labor disputes as well as prevent from escalating.
Al Hajri said that senior management from three major industrial sectors of Qatar will be passing on their knowledge carrying from these seminars onward to the workers of their respective factories through their supervisors.
He said that the participants will also be distributing flyers among their workers prepared by NHRC with the necessary information on rights of the workers and the employers in various languages.
Doha, Qatar, 17 Apr 2022
Qatar Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Sa'ad Al Kaabi met in Doha today Sung Wook Moon, visiting Minister of Trade, Energy and Industries of South Korea.
Both discussed bilateral energy affairs relations and ways to further enhance these relations.
Lahore, Pakistan, 16 Apr. 2022 (Daily Dawn)
Hamza Shebaz Elected Punjab Chief Minister in Provincial Assembly Session Marred By Melees, Chaos
PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz has been elected the new chief minister of Punjab following a chaotic session at the provincial assembly that saw Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari attacked and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi get injured.
Hamza garnered 197 votes to beat Elahi — his rival, whose party PML-Q and ally PTI boycotted the election that began after more than five hours of delay following a number of altercations and melees on the floor of the House throughout the day.
Announcing the results of the election, the deputy speaker said the day represented a "success of democracy" and lauded the "positive role" of the MPAs who took part in the voting despite today's events.
In his maiden speech as the chief minister of the province, Hamza said his victory belonged to every lawmaker still seated in the assembly and thanked his allies for their support.
He said he would not "pursue revenge" and would instead work to serve the people and benefit them — terming it as the "best [form of] revenge".
The newly elected chief minister said he would make price committees functional and that dialysis machines lying useless in hospitals would be repaired. He said a modern local government system would also be introduced in Punjab.
PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz congratulated her cousin on winning the election. "Brothers and sisters of Punjab, the mandate that was stolen from you during the 2018 election has been returned to you once more," she declared, adding that the people would get their due rights.
⇐Karachi, Pakistan, 15 Apr 2022 (Daily Dawn)
Philanthropist and humanitarian Bilquis Bano Edhi passed away at a Karachi hospital at the age of 74 on Friday.
Her death was confirmed by her son Faisal Edhi. Her funeral will be held tomorrow (Saturday) at New Memon Mosque on MA Jinnah Road after Zuhr.
A spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation told Dawn.com that Bilquis was suffering from "multiple ailments". "She had heart problems in addition to lung issues," he said.
Earlier this week, Bilquis — the wife of renowned humanitarian and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi — was rushed to a private hospital in Karachi after her blood pressure suddenly dropped.
At the time, Edhi Foundation spokesperson Muhammad Bilal said she would remain at the hospital for a couple more days even though her condition was not serious. He had added that Bilquis had congestive heart failure and she has already undergone bypass procedure twice.
Bilquis was a professional nurse and headed the Bilquis Edhi Foundation. She spent more than six decades of her life serving humanity. Her charity saved over thousands of unwanted babies by placing jhoolas (cradles) at Edhi Homes and centres across the country.
Called the Mother of Pakistan, she was awarded various national and foreign awards including the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the Lenin Peace Prize, Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice (2015), and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, which she received along with her husband in 1986.
Last year, she was also declared the ‘Person of the Decade’, along with UN rapporteur on human rights Prof Yanghee Lee and the US ethicist Stephen Soldz by an international organisation.
Condolences pour in
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed Bilquis' death "a huge loss for the nation".
"An incredible woman in her own right, she stood by Edhi sahab like a rock and together they set up an example of human compassion and ran one of the largest philanthropic organisations of the world. May her soul rest in peace!" he said.
"Sad to learn about the passing of Bilquis Edhi sahiba. She had always been shoulder to shoulder with Abdul Sattar Edhi in his philanthropic efforts and continued his work even after his death," said President Arif Alvi.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan said he was "deeply saddened".
"Her quiet, selfless work for the poor, the homeless, especially the orphans and abandoned children, made her a role model and a symbol of hope," he said.
Cricketer Shadab Khan said her "services to humanity will forever be remembered".
Dawn columnist Nadeem Farooq Paracha simply said: "A real messiah passes away. Rest in peace Bilquis Edhi."
Cricketer Shahid Afridi called her a mother to countless orphans, a sister to grieving hearts and the kindest face of humanity.
"#BilquisEdhi had always been shoulder to shoulder with Abdul Sattar Edhi in his philanthropic efforts and continued his mission even after him," he said.
PPP leader Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari termed it a "monumental loss to Pakistan". "She tirelessly served the people and leaves behind a legacy of compassion, kindness, and care," she said.
"She voluntarily endured discomfort only to comfort the most neglected, marginalised and vulnerable. The likes of her and her illustrious husband are born once in generations," said PPP Secretary General Farhatullah Babar.
"You have been an inspiration and a standard unmatched. You and Edhi sahab taught us humanity and what it’s like to be selfless," said singer Quratulain Balouch.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said she was "grieved to hear of a ministering angel’s passing from our midst", adding that Bilquis' kindness and generosity would not be forgotten.
Harar, Ethiopia, 14 Apr 2022 (Anadolu News)
Though falconry or training falcons have existed throughout history, Nibras Suleiman, 27, resident of Harar, a city in eastern Ethiopia has taken it to another level by feeding the bird of prey without putting on gloves.
Standing in the middle of the courtyard, he stretches out his arm with a piece of meat on his open and bare palm. The falcon descends snatches a piece of the meat and flies back to the concrete roof. Few other falcons also dived down and take meat from his open palm.
Experts believe that these raptors equipped with some deadly features that included sharp claws, well-built wings, and hooked beaks, can take the flesh out of the hand.
Undaunted by these dangers, Nibras now puts a piece of meat on the top of his head. The falcons dive down with speech and pick up the piece of meat leaving Nibras unscathed.
“I earn enough money to support my family from this show. I started training falcons 15 years ago,” Nibras told Anadolu Agency.
Near the meat market in Harar, people flock in large numbers to see the feat of Nibras and his winged friends.
Tracing his friendship with falcons, he said that some 15-years ago a falcon snatched samosas from his hand. He immediately thought of training the master bird.
He now runs an open-air falcon show to amuse people.
Not only from his palm, but at his instance Nibras, falcons take pieces of meat from the hands of visitors as well under his guidance.
“This is my calling and I will be doing it, Allah gave me the skills and I am making good use of it,” he said beaming with a smile.
Daniel Worku, an expert with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority said training a falcon with bare hands and imparting skills to take food without inflicting injury to the person is amazing.
“The trainer however should never be using his bare hands as birds are the second most notorious vectors of diseases after primates,” he said.
Altering behavior of birds
Daniel expressed worry that such a practice of taming birds may alter their behavior.
“Once you bring a change in the behaviors of birds and primates, it is hard to get them back to normal,” he said.
Further, Daniel said that in such cases the animals whose behavior has been altered become dangerous for humans later if their feeding is stopped.
“There needs to be continuity of that kind of practice of putting up an avian show because once the birds lost their natural character, there may follow wildlife-human conflict if the practice is discontinued,” he said.
He fears that if Nibras stops his show, the falcons may opt to attack people and snatch food.
“Falcons, like eagles, owls, and other bigger birds of prey are the most impacted by human activity and there needs to be a study in this regard in Ethiopia. The open space birds’ show may be advantageous also to create awareness of people on birds’ protection,” he said.
Beijing, 15 Apr. 2022 (Xinhua)
China gives priority to developing relations with Saudi Arabia and stands ready to work with the country to continuously deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership and to bring more benefits to the two countries and their people, said Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday morning during a phone conversation with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
The Chinese president said that over the past years, China and Saudi Arabia have joined their efforts and moved forward together, facilitating new development in bilateral ties.
Xi also asked Mohammed to convey his greetings to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, saying that at present, the international and regional situations are undergoing profound and complex changes, further highlighting the strategic and overarching significance of China-Saudi Arabia relations.
The Chinese side supports Saudi Arabia in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and stability, and in independently exploring a development path suited to its own national conditions, Xi stressed.
China will continue to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and forge a high-level cooperation pattern between the two sides in such fields as energy, economy and trade as well as high technology, Xi said.
The Chinese side supports Saudi Arabia's Green Middle East initiative and welcomes Saudi Arabia's participation in the Global Development Initiative, Xi added.
China and Saudi Arabia should strengthen solidarity, practice true multilateralism, safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and uphold international fairness and justice as well as the common interests of developing countries, said Xi.
China is ready to work with Saudi Arabia to promote peace and stability in the Middle East, push for an early conclusion of the China-Gulf Cooperation Council free trade area agreement and jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era, said Xi.
Mohammed conveyed King Salman's greetings to Xi, and once again congratulated China on the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Calling China an important comprehensive strategic partner of Saudi Arabia, the crown prince said that in recent years, Saudi Arabia-China ties have seen great progress in various fields and China has provided a model of economic development and political stability for countries worldwide.
Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to China's status and to the development of its relations with China, and firmly adheres to the one-China principle, Mohammed said.
He added that his country will continue to staunchly support China's legitimate position on such issues concerning core interests as Xinjiang, resolutely oppose any interference in China's internal affairs, and firmly safeguard the rights of all countries to choose their own political and human rights paths independently.
The crown prince said that Saudi Arabia is willing to work with China to strengthen high-level exchanges, sign agreements to synergize Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 with the Belt and Road Initiative, and deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, transportation, infrastructure and energy.
Saudi Arabia stands ready to boost communication and coordination with China in international and regional affairs, supports China's just position on major international and regional issues, and backs the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council to enhance cooperation with China, he added.
The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine.
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