INTERNATIONAL – Page 17 – OVERSEAS TRIBUNE

Russian strike kills 34 civilians in Syria

September 11, 2017September 11, 2017 News Desk

At least 34 civilians were killed on Sunday when Russian warplanes targeted ferries carrying them across the Euphrates River near Syria’s eastern city of Deir Ezzor, a monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group initially reported 21 deaths in Russian air strikes but later raised the toll to 34, saying that “more bodies have been found in the river”. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said nine children were among those killed fleeing fighting and that “dozens” of people were wounded in the strikes. He said the…

Rohingya Muslims among 1,000 killed in Myanmar: UN rapporteur

September 9, 2017September 9, 2017 News Desk

SEOUL: More than 1,000 people might already have been killed in Myanmar, mostly minority Rohingya Muslims — more than twice the government’s total — a senior United Nations representative said on Friday, urging Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out against the deaths. India refuses to join declaration against Myanmar at international meet In the last two weeks alone 270,000 mostly Rohingya civilians have fled to Bangladesh, overwhelming refugee camps that were already bursting at the seams, the UN said. Others have died trying to flee the fighting in Rakhine…

China has tightened restrictions on religious freedom

September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 News Desk

China has tightened regulations on religious freedom, intensifying punishments for unsanctioned activities and increasing its supervision of certain groups in a bid to “block extremism” and tackle what it sees as internal threats. The updated rules, released by China’s cabinet the State Council on Thursday, come as the country ratchets up already stringent controls on Muslim and Christian populations and include a ban on religious organisations accepting foreign donations. China says it is facing a growing threat from domestic cults and radical Islam but critics have accused Beijing of a…

India refuses to join declaration against Myanmar at international meet

September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 News Desk

NUSA DUA, INDONESIA: In a clear show of solidarity with Myanmar, India has refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference saying it carried “inappropriate” reference to violence in Rakhine state from where 125,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh. According to a Times of India report, an Indian parliamentary delegation dissociated itself from the ‘Bali Declaration’ at the ‘World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development’ held in Indonesia. “This was in view of the fact that the declaration, which was to be adopted at the conclusion of the forum, was…

Trump hails Kuwait mediation on Qatar; Arab states react

September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 News Desk

President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed efforts by the leader of Kuwait, a staunch American ally, to mediate a festering diplomatic crisis involving Qatar and its Arab neighbours that could have implications for the US military presence in the region. However, the quartet of Arab nations now boycotting Doha issued a strongly worded statement early on Friday morning dismissing some of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah’s comments, signalling the diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf is far from over. At a White House news conference with Sheikh Sabah, Trump said he appreciated…

At least 5 dead as magnitude 8.4 quake rocks Mexico, sets off tsunami warning

September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 News Desk

A rare and powerful 8.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico late Thursday, killing at least five people as seismologists warned of a tsunami of more than three metres. The quake hit offshore in the Pacific about 120 kilometres southwest of the town of Tres Picos in far southern Chiapas state, the US Geological Survey said, putting the magnitude at 8.1. Mexico’s seismologic service however gave a magnitude of 8.4, which if confirmed would be the most powerful ever recorded in this quake-prone country. Chiapas Governor Manuel Velasco said three people were…

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi slams ‘misinformation’ over Rohingya crisis

September 6, 2017September 6, 2017 News Desk

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday alleged a “huge iceberg of misinformation” was distorting the picture of the Rohingya crisis, which has forced 125,000 of the Muslim minority to flee to Bangladesh. In her first comments since Rohingya militant attacks sparked unrest on August 25, Suu Kyi said fake news was “calculated to create a lot of problems between different communities” and to promote “the interest of the terrorists”. Her intervention, quoted on the Facebook page of her State Counsellor’s office, followed a phone call with Turkish…

Trump ends amnesty for young immigrants

September 6, 2017September 6, 2017 News Desk

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday ended an amnesty protecting 800,000 people brought to the United States illegally as minors from deportation, prompting a political firestorm. The US leader — who had promised to act “with great heart” in the case of the so-called “Dreamers”, many of whom have lived most of their life in the United States — left it to his attorney general to make his final decision known. “I am here today to announce that the programme known as DACA that was effectuated under the Obama Administration…

A Norwegian Pakistani footballer Ghayas Zahid to take part in Champions League

September 5, 2017September 6, 2017 News Desk

The 22- year old Ghayas Zahid, 22 has signed a four-year contract with the Cypriot football club Apoel FC in order to take part in the international matches including Champions League (CL) on behalf of the club. APOEL FC is a famous professional football club based in Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL is the most popular football team in Cyprus and so far, they are the most successful with an overall tally of 26 championships, 21 cups and 13 super cups. The Champions League is an annual continental club football competition organised…

Eid in Europe celebrated on Friday

September 2, 2017September 6, 2017 News Desk

Special Report Most of the Muslims in Europe have celebrated Eid al-Adha, the religious festival on Friday, 1st September. The festival is being celebrated at end of Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, the Muslims’ holy city in Saudi Arabia. More than two million pilgrims went to the Arabia to the Hajj pilgrimage this year. The Eid al-Adha, the holy festival is also known as the ‘sacrifice feast’ or Greater Eid, begins on the 10th day of Zilhajj, a month in the Islamic lunar calendar. Muslims in different European countries like Belgium, France, UK,…

7 dead, dozens feared trapped in Mumbai building collapse

August 31, 2017August 31, 2017 News Desk

At least seven people died and dozens were feared trapped when a building collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai Thursday, after days of heavy rain swamped the city. Rescuers using diggers sifted through the remains of the four-storey residential building which gave way around 08:40am in the densely populated area of Bhendi Bazaar. Rescue workers and residents look for survivors.— AFP It was the latest deadly housing collapse to strike the teeming metropolis — shining a spotlight on poor construction standards in the Asian country — and came after heavy rains…

Myanmar villages burn as military cracks down on militants

August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 News Desk

Smoke billowed from at least three burning villages in the remote section of Rakhine state where Myanmar’s military is carrying out sweeps for militants, an AFP reporter saw on Wednesday. The violence, which erupted six days ago after Rohingya militants staged surprise raids on police posts, has shown little sign of abating, leaving at least 110 confirmed dead and sending thousands fleeing. The displaced include ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, thousands of whom have massed at the “zero line” border with Bangladesh which they are barred from crossing. The…

Chinese troops to patrol border area after India standoff

August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 News Desk

BEIJING: China said on Tuesday that its troops would continue to patrol a disputed Himalayan border area after resolving a months-long military stand-off there with India. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying refused to disclose future plans for the road project that had triggered the confrontation on the remote Doklam plateau. “I’ve said that Chinese border troops will continue to be stationed and patrol in Doklam and we will continue to exercise our sovereignty according to historical conventions,” Hua told a regular press briefing. The standoff began in mid-June after Chinese troops…

Hurricane Harvey back ashore, hits Louisiana

August 30, 2017 News Desk

The National Hurricane Center on Wednesday said that Harvey will be back on land after coming ashore earlier just west of Cameron, Louisiana. The tropical storm is expected to weaken and continue to the north. Harvey is expected to drop substantial amounts of rain on Louisiana before moving on to Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Missouri, which could also see flooding. The storm returned to land about eight kilometres west of Cameron with maximum sustained winds of 72 kph. Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said on Tuesday that when Harvey came back to…

Indian army chief wants troops to remain on guard in case of another standoff with China

August 28, 2017August 28, 2017 News Desk

Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Sunday that situations similar to the ongoing standoff over Doklam Plateau between Indian and Chinese troops could recur in the future, adding that Indian troops should remain on guard, Times of India reported. According to the Indian daily, the army chief said that even if Beijing and New Delhi arrive at a resolution regarding the current standoff, “our troops on the border should not feel it cannot happen again”. “My message to the troops is to not let down [their] guard,” TOI quoted the army chief as saying.…