epubdos : Afghanistan
SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO:
SCA & Staff
DATE:
Thursday, June 13, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan
1,000 days have passed since the Taliban barred girls from secondary education, the UN says (AP)
AP [6/12/2024 10:00 PM, Rahim Faiez, 31180K, Negative]
One thousand days have passed since girls in Afghanistan were banned from attending secondary schools. That’s according to the U.N. children’s agency, which said Thursday that “no country can move forward when half its population is left behind.”

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement urged Taliban authorities to allow all children to resume learning immediately, and called on the international community to support Afghan girls, who she said need it more than ever. The agency estimates that more than 1 million girls are affected.

The U.N. has warned that the ban on girls’ education remains the Taliban’s biggest obstacle to gaining recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.

The Taliban, who took over in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces in 2021, has said girls continuing their education goes against the group’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Despite initially promising a more moderate rule, Taliban have also barred women from higher education, public spaces like parks and most jobs as part of harsh measures imposed. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, they also banned girls’ education.

The Taliban has barred girls from attending classes beyond sixth grade, making it the only country in the world with such restrictions on female education.

In March, the new school year started with girls barred from attending classes beyond the sixth grade. Female journalists were not allowed to attend the opening ceremony.

The Taliban also have been prioritizing Islamic knowledge over basic literacy and numeracy with their shift toward madrassas, or religious schools.

UNICEF’s executive director called the systematic exclusion of girls “not only a blatant violation of their right to education, but also results in dwindling opportunities and deteriorating mental health.”

She said UNICEF works with partners to run community-based education classes for 600,000 children, two-thirds of them girls, and train teachers.

Although Afghan boys have access to education, Human Rights Watch has said the Taliban’s “abusive” educational policies are harming them. In a report published in December, the group said deep harm has been inflicted on boys’ education as qualified teachers — including women — left, including an increase in corporal punishment.
Afghan girls endure 1,000 days without school under Taliban rule (VOA)
VOA [6/12/2024 8:46 PM, Ayaz Gul, 4032K, Negative]
The Taliban’s ban on educating girls over the age of 12 in Afghanistan reached 1,000 days Thursday amid global outrage and demands for the immediate resumption of children’s learning.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, denounced it as a "sad and sobering milestone" and noted that "1,000 days out-of-school amounts to 3 billion learning hours lost."

The statement quoted Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, as warning the male-only Taliban government that no country can progress if half of its population is left behind.

"For 1.5 million girls, this systematic exclusion is not only a blatant violation of their right to education but also results in dwindling opportunities and deteriorating mental health," Russell said.

"As we mark this grim milestone, I urge the de facto authorities to allow all children to resume learning immediately," she added.

Women banned from many public places

The fundamentalist Taliban have prohibited girls from attending school beyond sixth grade since retaking control of Afghanistan in August 2021. The ban was later extended to universities, blocking female students from finishing their advanced education.

Women also are not allowed to show their faces on television or visit public places such as parks, beauty parlors, or gyms, and they are barred from undertaking road trips unless accompanied by a male relative.

"Afghanistan will never fully recover from these 1,000 days," said Heather Barr, women’s rights associate director at Human Rights Watch.

"The potential loss in this time — the artists, doctors, poets, and engineers who will never get to lend their country their skills — cannot be replaced," said Barr. "Every additional day, more dreams die."

UN officials calls for accountability

Meanwhile, in his latest report issued this week, the U.N. special rapporteur on Afghan human rights has called for the Taliban to be held accountable for their crimes against women and girls.

Richard Bennett alleged that de facto Afghan leaders have established and enforced "an institutionalized system of discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity and exclusion of women and girls."

He will present and discuss the report at the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting scheduled for June 18.

The Taliban reject criticism of their government and policies, saying they are aligned with local culture and Islam. Their reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has denounced calls to reform his policies as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

The impoverished country is reeling from years of war and repeated natural disasters. U.N. agencies estimate that more than half of the population in Afghanistan — 23.7 million people, including 9.2 million children — need relief assistance.

"Education doesn’t just provide opportunities. It protects girls from early marriage, malnutrition, and other health problems and bolsters their resilience to disasters like the floods, drought, and earthquakes that frequently plague Afghanistan," UNICEF executive director Russell said.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s new government presents its first budget as it seeks a new long-term IMF bailout (AP)
AP [6/12/2024 12:39 PM, Munir Ahmed, 31180K, Neutral]
Pakistan’s new coalition government presented its first budget in parliament on Wednesday, promising an increase of up to 25% in the salaries of government employees and setting an ambitious tax collection target while talks with the International Monetary Fund about a new bailout continue.

Analysts say the new budget of about $68 billion — up from $50 billion last fiscal year — is aimed at qualifying for a long-term loan of $6 billion to $8 billion from the IMF to help stabilize the economy, which in 2023 nearly defaulted on the payment of foreign debts.

Pakistan’s fiscal year begins on July 1. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wants to achieve 3.6% economic growth.

Aurangzeb also said inflation in Pakistan is down to 12%. At one point last year, it went above 40%, sparking angry protests.

“Now we are moving towards the right direction,” Aurangzeb said.

The minister announced that Pakistan is setting a challenging target of collecting 13 trillion rupees ($44 billion) in taxes, which is 40% more than in the current fiscal year. He said the government will ensure that the number of taxpayers increases.

Currently, about 5 million of Pakistan’s 240 million people pay taxes.

On the IMF talks, Aurangzeb said Pakistan will privatize the country’s national carrier. Pakistan International Airlines has had losses and has deteriorated over the decades as governments doled out patronage by giving airline jobs to supporters.

Aurangzeb also said the government will encourage the private sector to manufacture solar panels and other equipment in Pakistan, where tens of thousands of people have already installed Chinese-made solar system at homes, shops, schools, hospitals and factories because of increasing electricity rates.
Pakistan arrests prominent journalist for third time in a year (VOA)
VOA [6/12/2024 9:25 AM, Sarah Zaman, 4032K, Neutral]
Pakistani authorities arrested journalist and former TV anchor Imran Riaz Khan early Wednesday. Hours later, his legal team was informed the journalist was arrested for embezzlement.

A vocal critic of the country’s powerful military establishment, Khan was arrested early Wednesday from the airport in Lahore as he was on his way to perform the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

This is Khan’s third arrest in 13 months. The popular commentator, seen as a supporter of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has 5.7 million followers on social media platform X and 4.83 million followers on YouTube.

Videos posted overnight on Imran Riaz Khan’s X page show men in plain clothes surrounding his car at the entrance to the airport. Some people present at the scene surround the vehicle, too, demanding that the men stopping Khan identify themselves. Soon, police are seen arriving and forcefully stop some witnesses, including a lawyer, from recording the scene on their mobile phones.

Khan’s legal team filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking reasons for the arrest that they say was made without a warrant. A first information report shared on X by Khan’s lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaque shows the prominent reporter was accused of embezzling nearly $90,000 in a real estate deal.

In an earlier post on X, Ashfaque, who was driving his client to the airport, said the “arrest made in an illegal manner” was a violation of court orders.

Speaking to VOA Urdu, Ashfaque said that Khan was granted bail in all the cases against him, and that the Islamabad High Court gave him permission to leave the country.

In a video recorded before heading to the airport, Khan said he was expecting police action.

“I have information right now that there is a heavy presence of Rangers [paramilitary force] and police [at the airport] and they may arrest me,” Khan said in the clip posted after his arrest Wednesday.

The prominent media person once enjoyed a close relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military but fell out of favor for openly criticizing the institution after former premier Khan was removed from power in April 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

The popular politician, jailed since August last year, accuses his then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and political rivals of pushing him out of office in collusion with the Biden administration — charges they have all denied.

Past arrests

In May last year, police arrested journalist Khan at the airport in the industrial city of Sialkot in Punjab province. The action came amid a crackdown on former premier Khan’s supporters after many of them stormed government and military installations to protest his brief arrest on May 9.

The journalist, however, soon went “missing” and arrived home nearly five months later. Khan has hinted he was in the custody of intelligence agencies.

In February this year, authorities arrested him again — this time on corruption charges. However, officials told VOA Urdu the commentator was accused of spreading religious hate and running an online campaign against the chief justice.
Imran Khan is only still in jail thanks to ‘weak’ case over marriage to his wife, his party says (The Independent)
The Independent [6/12/2024 8:46 AM, Maroosha Muzaffar, 56358K, Negative]
Pakistan’s former leader Imran Khan married his current wife Bushra Bibi just months before he ascended to the premiership of the country in 2018, making it the popular cricketer-turned-politician’s third marriage after two divorces.

He could not have known at the time that, six years later, the procedure and timings surrounding that wedding would be the only reason he remains behind bars, having been ousted as prime minister in a vote of no confidence and then pursued by the authorities with some 170 criminal charges.

Khan has since been acquitted or granted bail on many of the most serious of those charges – all of which Khan says are politically motivated. The latest example of this came just last week, when Khan was acquitted of exposing state secrets for publicly revealing a diplomatic cable at a political rally in 2022.

That ruling meant that the only offence on Khan’s lengthy charge list keeping him in prison was a ruling from February this year that his marriage to Bibi, 49, in 2018 was un-Islamic and illegal. The judge in the case fined them PKR500,000 (£1,420) and sentenced both to seven years in jail.

“It’s the weakest out of all the cases that was put [against him],” says Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, a close aide of Khan and one of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s most senior officials not being held in jail himself.

“All of them were weak but this was especially weak,” Bukhari tells The Independent. “He is in jail now just because he married his wife.”

Bibi’s ex-husband Khawar Maneka alleges her marriage to Khan violated Muslim family law. According to Islamic law, a Muslim widow or a divorcee has to abide by the “iddat” – a waiting period before they can lawfully enter into a new marriage.

According to the Quran, a menstruating woman must observe three monthly cycles before remarriage, while a non-menstruating woman must wait for three lunar months. For widows, the required delay is four months and 10 days. These rules are aimed at eliminating any uncertainty regarding paternity if a woman becomes pregnant shortly before her separation from her spouse or his death.

During both the hearing and in its final ruling, a Pakistani court extensively scrutinised Bibi’s menstrual cycle details – ultimately dismissing her assertion that three cycles had elapsed between her divorce and subsequent marriage to Khan. The court accepted the testimony of Maneka who alleged otherwise. Bibi has claimed previously that Maneka divorced her in April 2017 and that she married Khan on 1 January 2018.

The Dawn newspaper reported in November last year that Maneka said he “half-heartedly” divorced Bibi on 14 November 2017, and had reconciliation in mind before February 2018 but the “premature nikah (Muslim wedding ceremony) during iddat” between Bibi and Khan “frustrated his plans”.

“The cases even before were a joke. Others [cases in which Mr Khan was imprisoned] have been thrown out by the court of law. And those were considered by the opposition as cases with substance,” Bukhari says.

The court judgment was criticised in Pakistan by members of the civil society, women activists, and lawyers as a “blow to women’s right to dignity and privacy”. There were also protests against the ruling party against the “state’s intrusion into people’s private lives”.

It’s a “bogus case of political victimisation”, said another senior PTI official, Gohar Ali Khan, at the time. Khan has often called Bibi his spiritual leader for her devotion to Sufism, a mystical form of Islam.

Khan married Jemima Goldsmith in 1995 at the peak of his cricketing career, with whom he had two sons before they divorced after nine years. His second marriage, to journalist and former BBC weather presenter Reham Khan in 2015, ended in less than a year.

Bukhari alleges that the actions taken against Khan and his party by the authorities were strategically timed to create a public perception of the political irrelevance of both.

“It was done to try to convey, or put a narrative across to the public that Imran Khan or his party is no more for the next 35 years,” he says. However, “that narrative was unsuccessful because people familiar with politics and Imran Khan, as well as the general public, did not accept it, which influenced the way they voted”.

Independent candidates ended up winning 101 seats out of the total of 265, followed by Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML) with 75, and Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) 54.

Shehbaz Sharif – Nawaz’s brother – from the PML returned as prime minister in an election human rights activists and political experts widely criticised as one of the least credible in Pakistan’s history.

The elections were also marked by the absence of PTI and Khan. Pakistan’s Supreme Court rejected a bid by PTI to keep its traditional electoral symbol, a cricket bat. Khan’s party, known for its strained relations with the military, faced increasing pressure from an army-backed crackdown leading up to the 8 February vote. The independent candidates supporting Khan contested the elections under their own individual symbols.

The Sharif government denies unfairly targetting the opposition party, and says criminal cases against PTI activists mostly stem from the violent protests that erupted when Khan was first arrested in May last year, during which a number of military facilities were attacked. The authorities accused Khan of “instigating violence” and called his rioting supporters “arsonists” exhibiting “enmity against the motherland”.

But Bukhari says the pre-election crackdown on PTI has continued, well over a year after those protests took place.

“There’s a massive crackdown, especially against our social media team and social media activists. The biggest fear that they [the establishment] have is social media because that cannot be contained. So there’s a serious crackdown against social media activists and their families,” he says.

Bukhari cites instances of what he calls “abductions” by the authorities, including that of PTI’s social media lead Azhar Mashwani and two of his brothers. He claims they have been missing for about five to six days.

The Lahore High Court on 7 June directed the Punjab inspector general of police to recover Mashwani’s brothers after they were seemingly picked up by law enforcement agencies, according to the Dawn.

Bukhari also alleges that the brother of Shahbaz Gill, Imran Khan’s former chief of staff, has been detained by the country’s security forces. Bukhari says it is “astonishing that now the family members who are not involved in activism” are being targeted. The government in 2022 had arrested Gill for sedition and inciting the public against state institutions.

The same year Pakistan’s parliament ousted Khan with a no-confidence motion.

When the verdict on the “illegal” marriage case came out in February, there were protests across the country. “It’s a woman’s body and only she can tell you what happened with her, when she was on her period, when she was pregnant. This is why we keep saying ‘mera jism, meri marzi (my body, my choice)’,” activist Farzana Bari said at the time.

In an official statement, Aurat March Islamabad, an activist group, also demanded that the decision be overruled “as failure to do so will establish a precedent that could be exploited by a judiciary itself that is historically inclined towards anti-women rulings”.

Out of four cases where Khan was convicted before the national elections in Pakistan, his sentences in two were suspended pending appeals.
Pakistan floats international travel ban for tax dodgers (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [6/13/2024 5:30 AM, Adnan Aamir, 2M, Neutral]
Pakistan’s government has proposed an unprecedented crackdown on tax evasion that would block international travel and deny mobile phone and utility service to people who owe money to the government.

The moves, which include heavy fines on government agencies that fail to implement the penalties, were outlined the government’s proposed budget announced late Wednesday.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the country’s budget for the fiscal year through June 2025 to jeers from the opposition. This is the first budget since the heavily indebted South Asian nation formed a new government in March, as it seeks new long-term bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

The budget has a total outlay of $67 billion, up 30% from the current fiscal year. The government has set an economic growth target of 3.6%.

In its latest budget, the government has set an ambitious tax collection target of $46.6 billion, a 38% increase compared with the previous fiscal year. The government’s proposal sharply raises rates on current taxpayers.

People who do not receive a fixed salary, including self-employed workers and contractors, face income tax rates up to 45%, a level that Ikram ul Haq, an expert on the economy and taxation with a doctorate in law, sees as quite steep. The tax on "profit on debt," or interest paid on bank deposits, has been raised to 35% from 30%.

Haq told Nikkei Asia the budget has no new taxes targeting the rich and powerful, warning, "The enhancement of rates [on] existing taxes will only squeeze already overburdened taxpayers."

The government sees things differently. "Everyone has to come into the [tax] net," Aurangzeb told members of the media after the budget was announced.

To ensure a bigger tax take, the government has introduced unprecedented sanctions for registered taxpayers who do not file their returns. It has already started blocking the SIM cards of mobile subscribers found in violation of tax rules on a limited scale, and it has announced the effort will expand once the budget is approved. It will also block the utility connections of taxpayers who fail to file.

The latest penalties go a step further, banning nonfilers from traveling outside of the country, with some exceptions. People going on the Hajj -- the Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia -- students and minors are exempt. The government has even announced fines of up to $700,000 for public agencies and companies such as mobile phone carriers that fail to impose sanctions against tax violators.

Many Pakistanis are unhappy with the crackdown, taking to social media to denounce the proposed travel ban.

Haq, the tax expert shares, their skepticism, saying, "[The] high tax targets are not based on pragmatic principles of widening the tax base [and] lower rates. High taxes will lead to further tax avoidance, in addition to affecting the formal sector. It will encourage transactions in the informal sector."

Uzair Younus, director of the Pakistan Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said the tax targets appear unachievable. "We may either see the government present a mini budget in the near future due to slippages, [or it may] constrain spending, in particular by curtailing infrastructure spending," he told Nikkei Asia.

The budget is in line with IMF demands. Minister Aurangzeb acknowledged in an interview that the budget has been prepared according to the suggestions of the IMF. "We’re facing an economic imbalance, but structural factors like investment, economic output and exports can help address this challenge," Aurangzeb said during his budget speech.

Pakistan is negotiating a $6 billion to $8 billion Extended Fund Facility deal with the IMF. One of the IMF’s main demands is that Pakistan substantially increase its tax collection.

"This is most certainly an IMF budget, given the enormous tax increases that are being accounted for," said Atlantic Council’s Younus.

More than half the government’s budget will be devoted to servicing Pakistan’s ballooning debt. Just 8% of the total outlay will be spent on federal development projects. The rest will go to meeting the government’s day-to-day expenses.

Lawmakers from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), coalition partners of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), initially voiced reservations over the lack of development spending. Later, they attended the session to give the government the quorum it needed to submit the budget.

The debate on the budget is likely to start in the National Assembly on June 20 after the Eid holidays next week. The budget must be passed by the assembly before June ends.
India
US National Security Advisor Sullivan to Visit India Next Week (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [6/12/2024 7:23 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 27296K, Negative]
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is likely to visit India next week as the two countries seek to bolster ties following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to office in a new coalition government, people familiar with the matter said.

Discussions are expected to center around the sharing of critical technology, an ambitious India-Middle East-Europe trade corridor that’s been pushed by the Biden administration, and the security situation in the Middle East, according to one of the officials, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The US’s investigation into India’s alleged involvement in the thwarted assassination attempt of a Sikh separatist leader in New York is likely to figure prominently in the meeting as well, the person said.

Sullivan will be the first senior US official to visit India after Modi took office for a third term. President Joe Biden discussed Sullivan’s trip with Modi when he called the prime minister to congratulate him on his election win last week.

Biden has sought to build closer ties with India to counterbalance China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Modi is also trying to position India as an alternative manufacturing hub for US firms looking to diversify their supply chains beyond China.

Washington and New Delhi last year agreed to cooperate and share critical, emerging technologies such as around semi-conductors, although progress has been slow.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the US Embassy in New Delhi didn’t immediately comment on Sullivan’s visit.
China Willing To Improve Ties With India, Work On Border Dispute (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [6/12/2024 5:47 AM, Dan Strumpf, 27296K, Positive]
China said it was willing to work with India to improve relations and said their border disputes “should be handled properly,” the latest exchange between the two countries following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s narrow third-term win.

China also said a stable relationship was “in the interest of both countries and conducive to the peace and development in this region and beyond,” according to a post on X from the account of the Chinese embassy’s spokesperson in India.

The embassy’s message comes a day after India’s foreign minister said he would focus the country’s China ties on “finding a solution for the border issues.” Subrahmanyam Jaishankar retained his position as the country’s foreign minister after Modi was elected to a third five-year term following elections in India that concluded last week.

Relations between China and India have been at a low point since a territorial dispute between the two erupted in a series of land-border clashes in 2020 that left at least 20 Indian and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers dead.

The two countries have held multiple rounds of diplomatic-military talks since then, though relations remain strained. While Chinese Premier Li Qiang sent

a congratulatory message to Modi on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping has yet to issue one himself. Meanwhile, a Chinese government spokeswoman last week criticized an exchange over X between Modi and the government of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

The polls saw Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party stripped of its majority in parliament, forcing the Indian prime minister to govern with coalition partners for the first time.
India urges Russia to return its citizens recruited by Russia’s army after 2 were killed (AP)
AP [6/12/2024 7:24 AM, Staff, 31180K, Neutral]
India on Wednesday said it had urged Russia to return Indian citizens recruited by Russia’s army after two were killed recently in the war in Ukraine.

“I want to assure you that the Indian government has taken the matter very seriously,” foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters.

On Tuesday night, India’s foreign ministry said it was in touch with Russian authorities to arrange the repatriation of the two Indians’ remains. Two other Indians died earlier this year while fighting in Ukraine.

India has avoided voting against Russia at the United Nations or criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. India considers Russia a time-tested ally from the Cold War era with cooperation in defense, oil, nuclear energy and space exploration.

India previously said its authorities were in talks with Russia about the return of its citizens who it said had been duped into working for the Russian army. Its federal investigation agency said it had broken up a human trafficking network that lured people to Russia under the pretext of giving them jobs, with at least 35 Indians being sent via agents.

Sri Lanka and Russia held talks last month to resolve the issue of Sri Lankans fighting alongside Russians in the war against Ukraine, after at least 16 were reported missing in action. The South Asian island nation said its citizens had been duped into traveling to Russia with promises of good salaries and perks including Russian citizenship.

Nepal in January asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals who were recruited to fight against Ukraine. At least 14 Nepali nationals have died in Ukraine.
Indian police blame Pakistan for Jammu and Kashmir strife that killed 12 (Reuters)
Reuters [6/12/2024 12:22 PM, Fayaz Bukhari, 42991K, Negative]
Police in India’s territory of Jammu and Kashmir blamed arch rival Pakistan on Wednesday for a spate of militant attacks that has killed 12 people and injured dozens over the last three days.

Pakistan claims the Himalayan region, which has been roiled by militant violence since the start of an anti-Indian insurgency in 1989 that killed tens of thousands, although violence has waned in recent years.

"Our hostile neighbour wants to damage our peaceful environment," Anand Jain, police chief of Jammu, told reporters in a reference to Pakistan, which India has accused of stoking violence in the region for decades.

A spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. It has denied such claims in the past, saying it has given only political and diplomatic support to the insurgency.

Gunbattles in the area on Tuesday killed two militants and a paramilitary soldier while injuring a civilian and six security personnel, authorities said.

A third gunbattle broke out late on Wednesday in the Doda area of Jammu region, injuring one police official, police said.

"Army and police launched an operation in Tanta Top village of Doda district today after intelligence inputs about presence of a group of militants in the area. The militants fired on the troops injuring a policeman. The gun battle is on," the official, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said.

FROZEN TIES

The incidents came two days after nine Hindu pilgrims were killed and 41 injured when militants attacked a bus taking them to a Hindu shrine on Sunday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, head of the Hindu nationalist BJP, was sworn in for a third term.

The focus of militant activities had shifted from the Kashmir valley to the Jammu region, federal minister Jitendra Singh and a lawmaker from the region said on Wednesday while visiting the injured in one of the gunbattles in Jammu.

Jammu is the Hindu-dominated part of Indian administered Kashmir, where all the attacks in the last three days have taken place. In the past, militant attacks have been mostly concentrated in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir region.

The latest violence has prompted criticism of Modi by opposition parties demanding action against the perpetrators.

"Unless we talk to our neighbours we will not be able to solve the problem," Farooq Abdullah, a former chief minister of the region, told news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake. He is from The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, one of several parties opposed to Modi.

The region’s director general of police, R.R. Swain, said last week the number of local militants was dropping, although 70 to 80 foreign militants continue to be active.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen since India ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir state in 2019, splitting it into two federally administered territories.

On Monday, the leaders of the nuclear-armed rivals engaged in diplomacy on X as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his elder brother and former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif posted congratulations to Modi.

In response, Modi said: "The well-being and security of our people shall always remain our priority."
At least 40 Indians die in a fire at a building housing foreign workers in Kuwait (AP)
AP [6/12/2024 3:03 PM, Staff, 48440K, Negative]
A fire swept through a building that housed foreign workers in Kuwait early Wednesday, killing at least 40 Indian nationals and injuring more than 50, India’s external affairs ministry said. Local officials said the blaze appeared to be linked to code violations.

Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah confirmed the toll and ordered the arrest of the building’s owner during a visit to the site, local media reported.

“We will address the issue of labor overcrowding,” he said. “I’m now going to see what violations were committed here and I will deal with the owner of the property.”

Col. Sayed Hassan al-Mousawi, head of the firefighters’ Accident Investigation Department, said there were dozens of casualties and that the final death toll may be higher.

India’s external affairs ministry said late Wednesday in a statement that “around 40 Indians are understood to have died and over 50 injured.”

The injured are being treated in five government hospitals in Kuwait and receiving “proper medical care and attention,” the statement added. It said that India’s junior External Affairs Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh will be traveling to Kuwait to work toward early repatriation of mortal remains and provide medical assistance to those injured.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the victims and said the Indian Embassy is “closely monitoring the situation and working with the authorities there to assist the affected.”

“The fire mishap in Kuwait City is saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Kuwait, like other Persian Gulf countries, has a large community of migrant workers who far outnumber the local population. The nation of some 4.2 million people is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey but has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves.

A fire at an oil refinery in 2022 killed four people.
It’s so hot in India, an insurer is helping thousands of women buy food (CNN)
CNN [6/12/2024 7:30 AM, Diksha Madhok, 22739K, Neutral]
A one-of-its-kind insurance policy has started making payouts to tens of thousands of women across India to help them cope with the impact of extreme heat.

Fifty thousand women in 22 districts across the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat received a $5 payments as temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) last month in several parts of the country.

“This is the first time that insurance payouts and a direct cash assistance program have been combined to supplement the income of women when it’s dangerously hot,” said Kathy Baughman McLeod, CEO of Climate Resilience for All, a not-for-profit organization that designed the insurance in partnership with India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), a trade union with nearly three million members.

From small farmers to casual laborers, many SEWA members depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and that makes them particularly vulnerable to climate change. Indian women working in agriculture typically earn about 300 rupees ($3.60) per day.

Outdoor work in such extreme heat can lead to chronic rashes, dizziness, burns, infections, and miscarriage, according to Climate Resilience for All. Such high temperatures can also destroy crops or merchandise, which can have a debilitating impact on household debt for low-income families.

The insurance is underwritten by Swiss Re and provided locally by ICICI Lombard.

More than 46,000 women were given additional insurance payments, with some receiving up to $19.80 each. Overall payments across the program amounted to over $340,000, Climate Resilience for All said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The money from the program has allowed me to pay for my medical expenses and to buy food for my family,” said Arunaben Makwana, one of the beneficiaries, said in the statement.

The insurance plan is currently offered to members of SEWA, who work across India’s vast informal sector. According to McLeod, the program may be rolled out to more communities across South Asia, as well as east and west Africa in the coming year.

Toiling under the burning sun

Such insurance initiatives may become critical worldwide as policymakers grapple with a much hotter planet.

India has endured a scorching summer — with a part of the capital of Delhi recording the country’s highest-ever temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius (121.8 Fahrenheit) last month.

Rising mercury levels in the country risks reversing progress on poverty alleviation, health and economic growth, experts say.

India is “expected to lose about 5.8% of daily working hours due to heat stress in 2030,” said a United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) report in April.

“The problem is most severe for outdoor workers, particularly those employed in agriculture and construction, but also relevant for indoor factory workers,” it added.
India’s heat wave hits marginalized Dalit caste (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle [6/12/2024 8:26 AM, Midhat Fatimah, 15592K, Negative]
A nationwide heat wave that began in May has brought unprecedented temperatures to northern and western India .

The India Meteorological Department issued red alerts at the end of May warning about the "very high likelihood" that many people would experience heat illness and heat stroke, and urging "extreme care" for vulnerable individuals.

Despite the heat wave, however, Kanchan Devi is forced to make her living outdoors, baking bricks in the state of Haryana.

Temperature warnings do little for informal laborers such as Devi. The twenty-something-year-old only has a piece of cloth wrapped around her head to protect her from the sun.

Devi, who belongs to the Dalit community — a historically marginalized group from the lowest level of India’s centuries-old discriminatory caste hierarchy — squats for hours at a time as she works at the furnace to produce bricks. Last month, Devi experienced dizziness at work during the heatwave and was subsequently hospitalized due to low blood pressure.

‘Risking our lives’

A report by the Center for Labour Research and Action found that over 50% of the workers at the 21 brick kilns it surveyed were Dalits.

"Our lives are always at risk," said Raheb Rajput, a Dalit construction worker in New Delhi, who told DW that he lost his cousin to the heat wave in May. "It is getting hotter with every passing year."

Nearly 25,000 people are believed to have experienced heatstroke during India’s summer season, which runs from March through May, the news website ThePrint reported ,citing government data.

The National Alliance of People’s Movements, a civil rights organization, demanded that this year’s extreme heat be declared a disaster under India’s Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Is caste a heat vulnerability factor in India?

Several studies and media reports highlight the plight of workers in the unorganized sector, which represents a huge chunk of the Indian labor force, especially during sweltering summers — but caste has rarely been recognized as a factor that contributes to heat vulnerability.

Experts say socioeconomic factors can have an impact on people’s vulnerability to heat. A study

by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) revealed that occupational heat exposure exacerbates social inequalities.

"Research suggests that caste-based division of labor continues to exist in India’s modern market economy," said Arpit Shah, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Bengaluru, one of India’s most-populous cities.

Shah’s ongoing research explores the relationship between caste and occupational heat exposure.

"Construction workers and sanitation workers are disproportionately likely to be from the marginalized caste groups. Since these occupations require more outdoor work, there is greater risk because of heat waves," Shah said.

By some accounts, 90% of the workforce in India is employed in the informal sector. A massive proportion of the workers in the informal sector belongs to the Dalit community, Scheduled Tribes and other "lower" caste groups, according to a 2020 report by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights.

Challenges faced by brick kiln workers

Most laborers at brick kilns are migrants who live in shanties constructed by stacking up bricks on top of each other, with tin sheets or tarpaulin used for the roof.

At times, the migrant workers stay with their families, including children, at the site of the kiln in severely hot temperatures.

Devi said she slept in the field at night. "It is hotter inside our tin-roofed shanty," she said.

Most of the shanties lack basic amenities such as fans and light bulbs. Many of the workers DW spoke with said they arranged for fans on their own.

Some employers fail to provide even drinking water. Laborers are forced to search for water in nearby areas, and this scarcity also puts them at risk.

Gulrez Shah Azhar, a former researcher with the Public Health Foundation of India, said heat vulnerability could be exacerbated by people’s individual environments.

"Imagine living in a shanty," he said. "There’s no separate bathroom or running water supply enabling privacy to take a shower. All of these factors add to how vulnerable a person is to heat."

The mercury’s rise makes access to cooling and shade a crucial heat adaptation strategy, but most of the people from the Dalit community DW spoke with did not own air coolers — let alone air conditioners.

The lower-caste and tribal households are also reported to have 10%-30% less access to electricity.

Pathway for inclusive policy to deal with heat waves

The National Disaster Management Authority adopted the UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

and released its plan in 2016. The initial plan considered only the elderly and disabled as vulnerable groups to natural disasters. However, in 2019, it was revised to include Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in this category.

"The Heat Action Plans formulated at state, city and district levels do not take the impact on vulnerable caste groups into account," said Beena Johnson, the general secretary of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights.

A study by the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research think tank found that "nearly all Heat Action Plans are poor at identifying and targeting vulnerable groups."

Mukul Sharma, the author of the book "Caste and Nature," said the government only provided data for deaths caused by heat, but disaggregating the numbers would most likely reveal that many of the victims are Dalits.

"We are living in a different time, for all of us," Azhar said. "Heat is the greatest inequality issue of our time."
Rural India runs dry as thirsty megacity Mumbai sucks water (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [6/12/2024 10:27 PM, Staff, 85570K, Negative]
Far from the gleaming high-rises of India’s financial capital Mumbai, impoverished villages in areas supplying the megacity’s water are running dry -- a crisis repeated across the country that experts say foreshadows terrifying problems.

"The people in Mumbai drink our water but no one there, including the government, pays attention to us or our demands," said Sunita Pandurang Satgir, carrying a heavy metal pot on her head filled with foul-smelling water.

Demand is increasing in the world’s most populous nation of 1.4 billion people, but supplies are shrinking -- with climate change driving erratic rainfall and extreme heat.

Large-scale infrastructure for Mumbai includes reservoirs connected by canals and pipelines channelling water from 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.

But experts say a failure of basic planning means that the network is often not connected to hundreds of rural villages in the region and several nearby districts.

"The people in Mumbai drink our water but no one there, including the government, pays attention to us or our demands," said Sunita Pandurang Satgir, carrying a heavy metal pot on her head filled with foul-smelling water.

Demand is increasing in the world’s most populous nation of 1.4 billion people, but supplies are shrinking -- with climate change driving erratic rainfall and extreme heat.

Large-scale infrastructure for Mumbai includes reservoirs connected by canals and pipelines channelling water from 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.

But experts say a failure of basic planning means that the network is often not connected to hundreds of rural villages in the region and several nearby districts.

In the peak of summer, 35-year-old Satgir said she can spend up to six hours a day fetching water.

Temperatures this year surged above a brutal 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).

When the well dries, the village then relies on a government tanker with irregular supplies, two or three times a week.

It brings untreated water from a river where people wash and animals graze.

Satgir’s home in the dusty village of Navinwadi, near the farming town of Shahapur, lies some 100 kilometres from the busy streets of Mumbai.

The area is also the source of major reservoirs supplying some 60 percent of water to Mumbai, local government authorities say.

Mumbai is India’s second-biggest and rapidly expanding city, with an estimated population of 22 million.

"All that water from around us goes to the people in the big city and nothing has changed for us," Satgir said.

"Our three generations are linked to that one well," she added. "It is our only source."

Deputy village head Rupali Bhaskar Sadgir, 26, said residents were often sick from the water.

But it was their only option.

"We’ve been requesting governments for years to ensure that the water available at the dams also reaches us," she said. "But it just keeps getting worse."

Government authorities both at the state level and in New Delhi say they are committed to tackling the problem and have announced repeated schemes to address the water crisis.

But villagers say they have not reached them yet.

‘Unsustainable rates’

India’s government-run NITI Aayog public policy centre forecasts a "steep fall of around 40 percent in freshwater availability by 2030", in a July 2023 report.

It also warned of "increasing water shortages, depleting groundwater tables and deteriorating resource quality".

Groundwater resources "are being depleted at unsustainable rates", it added, noting they make up some 40 percent of total water supplies.

It is a story repeated across India, said Himanshu Thakkar, from the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, a Delhi-based water rights campaign group.

This is "typical of what keeps happening all over the country", Thakkar said, adding it represents everything "wrong with the political economy of making dams in India".

"While projects are planned and justified in the name of drought-prone regions and its people, most end up serving only the distant urban areas and industries," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who began a third term in office this month, announced a flagship scheme to provide tapped water to every household in 2019.

But in Navinwadi village, residents are resigned to living on the strictly rationed supply.

When the water tanker arrives, dozens of women and children sprint out with pots, pans, and buckets.

Santosh Trambakh Dhonner, 50, a daily labourer, said he joined the scramble as he had not found work that day.

"More hands means more water at home", he said.

Ganesh Waghe, 25, said residents had complained and protested, but nothing was done.

"We are not living with any grand ambitions," Waghe said. "Just a dream of water the next morning".
Human bird flu infection confirmed in India amid concern over avian flu outbreaks in U.S. farm animals (CBS News)
CBS News [6/12/2024 10:29 AM, Arshad R. Zargar, 47221K, Negative]
As a string of recent bird flu cases in U.S. cattle and poultry in several states draws warnings about the risks of possible widespread transmission to humans, India has had its second-ever human avian influenza infection confirmed by the World Health Organization. The U.N. health agency confirmed that a suspected case, a 4-year-old child in the eastern state of West Bengal, was infected with the H9N2 avian flu virus.

India’s first human avian flu case was confirmed in 2019. The cases in India involve a different bird flu virus than the one infecting animals and several people in the U.S., where it is the H5N1 strain spreading through herds.

The 4-year-old Indian child was first diagnosed with hyperreactive airway disease, but he developed a fever and abdominal pain in the last week of January this year. A few days later, he developed seizures and his respiratory distress continued. The fever got worse along with the abdominal cramps, and the child was admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit.

The hospital diagnosed him with post-infectious bronchiolitis caused by viral pneumonia, and he later tested positive for influenza B and adenovirus, for which he underwent treatment for about a month before being discharged on February 28, the WHO said.

His condition did not improve at home, however, and he was admitted to a different hospital on March 3. Nasal swabs confirmed an influenza infection, which the WHO has now confirmed as influenza-A sub-type H9N2, the avian flu.

The patient was discharged from the hospital, with ongoing oxygen support, on May 1.

WHO said the child had exposure to poultry at and around his home, and it warned that "further sporadic human cases could occur as this virus is one of the most prevalent avian influenza viruses circulating in poultry in different regions."

The Indian government has formed teams of public health officials to monitor flu symptoms in poultry flocks and increase awareness of the disease’s symptoms and prevention methods.

India has witnessed several avian flu outbreaks since 2006, when the first case was detected.

The WHO says humans can be infected with the virus if they come in direct — and in some cases indirect — contact with infected animals. Symptoms of human infection range from mild, flu-like symptoms and eye irritation to severe, acute respiratory disease and even death, the WHO says.

The U.N.’s global health agency has urged people to "minimize contact with animals" where infections are suspected, avoid contact with any surfaces that appear to be contaminated with animal feces, and to "strictly avoid contact with sick or dead animals" and practice hand hygiene.

Children, older people and pregnant and postpartum women need to be extra cautious, the WHO says.
NSB
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus indicted in Bangladesh embezzlement case (Reuters)
Reuters [6/12/2024 9:41 AM, Ruma Paul, 42991K, Negative]
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and 13 others were indicted by a Bangladesh court on Wednesday on charges of embezzlement of 252.2 million taka ($2 million) from the workers’ welfare fund of his telecoms company.

Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh, pioneering a global movement now known as microcredit.

The prosecution accuses Yunus and the others of embezzling 252.2 million taka from the welfare fund of Grameen Telecom, which owns a 34.2% stake in Grameenphone, the country’s largest mobile phone company and a subsidiary of Norway’s telecom giant Telenor (TEL.OL). They are also accused of money laundering.

Yunus denied any involvement in corruption, telling reporters that he and his coworkers were being harassed by the authorities.

Special Judge Syed Arafat Hossain dismissed petitions seeking the charges to be dropped, saying the prosecution had preliminarily demonstrated the misappropriation of funds and the illegal money transfers abroad.

The trial will begin on July 15, he said.

In January, Yunus was sentenced to six months in prison for violations of labour law, which he denied.

Although he is not in prison after securing bail in that case, Yunus faces more than 100 cases regarding the violations and graft accusations, which he said in an interview with Reuters last week was "very flimsy, made-up stories".

During the interview, Yunus said Bangladesh had turned into a "one-party" state as the ruling party stamps out political competition. The government denied his allegations on the cases and the style of rule.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus faces embezzlement charges (VOA)
VOA [6/12/2024 9:41 PM, Staff, 4032K, Negative]
Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus and 13 others were indicted in Dhaka Wednesday for allegedly embezzling over $2 million from his telecom company.

The indictment, brought by Bangladesh’s anti-corruption agency, charges Yunus with misusing funds from the worker’s welfare fund at Grameen Telecom, one of several companies he has founded, and engaging in money laundering.

Grameen Telecom owns a 34% stake in Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s largest mobile phone network.

Yunus, 83, denies any wrongdoing and emphasized his commitment to serving people and accused the government of harassment. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microcredit to help impoverished people.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused Yunus of “sucking blood from the poor.”

Yunus’ lawyer, Abdullah Al Manum, described the indictment as the most serious challenge Yunus has faced.

Earlier this year, Yunus was sentenced to six months in prison for labor law violations but was released on bail pending further proceedings.

More than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates last year urged Hasina to halt legal action against Yunus, alleging he is being targeted due to his strained relationship with her.

The government denied these allegations.

Yunus also faces over 100 additional charges related to labor law violations and alleged graft.

If convicted, he could potentially face life in prison. His trial is scheduled to start July 15.
Sheikh Hasina has turned Bangladesh into one-party state, says Nobel Peace Prize laureate (The Independent)
The Independent [6/12/2024 6:17 AM, Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, 56358K, Negative]
Bangladesh has become a "one-party state” due to the Sheikh Hasina government’s efforts to stamp out the political opposition, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has said.

Mr Yunus was indicted along with 13 other people in a £1.6m embezzlement case by a court in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday.

Mr Yunus, 83, and his fellow accused have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"Bangladesh doesn’t have any politics left," Mr Yunus, who pioneered the global microcredit movement and won the Nobel in 2006, told Reuters.

“There’s only one party which is active and occupies everything, does everything, gets to the elections in their way. They get their people elected in many different forms – proper candidates, dummy candidates, independent candidates – but all from the same party."

Ms Hasina was elected prime minister for a fourth straight term in January, in an election which was boycotted by the main opposition party after senior members of its leadership were either jailed or forced into exile before polling began.

Her Awami League party, which fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, is now being accused of leading the South Asian country towards autocracy by imposing sweeping laws and suffocating dissent through arbitrary detentions.

It has also drawn condemnation from abroad, with the US accusing Ms Hasina’s government of “undermining the democratic election process”.

Mr Yunus, who helped lift millions out of poverty by giving tiny loans of less than £80 to the rural poor, angered Ms Hasina with a 2007 plan to set up a political party.

Since then he has faced multiple charges, as well as incarcerations, with the latest coming just days before the election in May when he was jailed over alleged labour law violations.

Mr Yunus faces over 100 cases in all, which he has dismissed as "very flimsy, made-up stories".

Last year, more than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates urged Ms Hasina to suspend legal proceedings against Mr Yunus.

The government has denied the proceedings against Mr Yunus are linked to his frosty relationship with the prime minister.

Ms Hasina called Mr Yunus a “bloodsucker” of the poor in 2011.

Bangladesh’s law minister Anisul Huq said that he disagrees with Mr Yunus’s remarks about the government, calling them an "insult" to the people of the country. "Democracy is fully functional in this country," he added.

Mr Huq also denied that the accusations levelled against the activist are false. "He has gone to the highest court of the country which found there was a case against him."

"Is it a crime for a citizen to try to make a political party?" Mr Yunus asked, saying he dropped the idea within 10 weeks after realising he was not suited to politics.

"Restarting will be very painful because we have brought it to a point where it has completely disappeared," he added.
Coca-Cola ad in Bangladesh sparks backlash for ‘denying ties with Israel’ (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [6/12/2024 7:08 AM, Faisal Mahmud, 20871K, Negative]
A 60-second Coca-Cola advertisement in Bangladesh has caused a storm of criticism for the beverage giant over its attempt to distance itself from Israel amid the war on Gaza.

Since October 7, when Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip began, dozens of companies, including Coca-Cola, have seen a decline in sales in Muslim-majority countries, with consumers calling for a boycott of firms believed to have links with the Israeli government and military.

Local media reports say Coca-Cola sales have declined by about 23 percent in Bangladesh since the Gaza war. In recent months, the company has intensified its advertising campaign in the country – from full-page newspaper advertisements to prominent placements on news websites.

In its latest attempt to boost sales, the company on Sunday released an advertisement on television and social media, aimed at dispelling the “misinformation” that Coca-Cola is an Israeli product, arguing that the beverage “has been enjoyed for 138 years by people in 190 countries”.

The advertisement in Bengali opens on a hot day in a market, with a young man approaching a middle-aged shopkeeper as the latter watches a song from Coke Studio, a popular music series the cola company promotes in several South Asian countries, on his mobile phone.

“How are you, Sohail? Should I give you a [bottle of] Coke?” asks the shopkeeper, turning a table fan towards his sweaty customer. The man replies: “No Bablu bhai [brother], I am not drinking this stuff any more.”

When the shopkeeper asks why, the young man says: “This stuff is from ‘that place’.” He does not name the “place” — but it soon becomes clear that he is referring to Israel.

The shopkeeper, through a conversation with the man and his friends, explains to them that Coca-Cola is not from “that place” and that claims linking it to “that place” are misinformation.

The shopkeeper tells them: “Listen, guys, Coke is not at all from ‘that place’. For the past 138 years, people in 190 countries have been drinking Coke. They drink it in Turkey, Spain and Dubai. Even Palestine has a Coke factory.”

A relieved Sohail asks for a bottle of Coke.

‘Ludicrous attempt’

The commercial was first aired in Bangladesh during the India-Pakistan cricket match that is part of the Twenty20 World Cup, currently under way in the United States, where Coca-Cola is also based, and the Caribbean.

As soon as it aired, outrage began to appear online and offline, with many Bangladeshis condemning the advertisement’s “insensitivity” and inaccuracy.

“If cringe-fest has a literal face, it would be this ad,” said Jumanah Parisa, a student of Brac University in capital Dhaka, “If this ad doesn’t hurt Coke sales, I don’t know what will.”

Hasan Habib, a businessman from Dhaka’s Mirpur area, said he has boycotted Coke since Israel’s devastating attack on Gaza. “This ludicrous attempt to portray that Coke has nothing to do with Israel only consolidates my stance on keep boycotting it,” he said.

One particularly criticised element in the advertisement is its claim that “even Palestine has a Coke factory”.

In fact, the Coca-Cola factory is located in the occupied West Bank’s Atarot, an Israeli settlement considered illegal under international law.

“This is an utterly insensitive and false statement,” said Nadia Tabassum Khan, a market researcher in Dhaka, “It’s an insult to the millions of Palestinians who for long have been losing lands due to Israel’s forceful occupation.”

On Wednesday, an online shoe shop in Bangladesh put out an ad in protest, showing a bottle of Coke being kicked by a man wearing its shoes.

Abdul Al Nayan, marketing manager of ZIS, told Al Jazeera they made the ad to express solidarity with the Boycott Coke movement.

“As a marketing professional, I took the opportunity to formulate our product’s ad basing on a popular and the most discussed issue,” he said. “Also, as a Muslim, I strongly condemn Coke and its failed portrayal that they have no connection with Israel.”

Omar Nasif Abdullah, a lecturer of marketing at Bangladesh’s North-South University, told Al Jazeera the Coca-Cola advertisement shows that the company “failed to read the pulse of the people”.

“The new PR campaign is laden with the wrong message and wrong approach,” he said. “And in the cut-throat world of marketing, that’s an unforgivable mistake.”

As backlash grew, Coca-Cola on Tuesday removed the commercial from its YouTube and Facebook pages for about five hours, without any explanation. In the evening, the advertisement was quietly placed back, but the comments section on both platforms was disabled due to an influx of angry messages.

On TV, however, the commercials continue.

Al Jazeera reached out to several Coca-Cola officials in Bangladesh for their comments on the outrage over their advertisement, but did not receive any response.

Economic pressure

The controversy surrounding the firm is part of a broader backlash that it has faced globally over the war in Gaza.

“Coke, seen as a quintessential American brand, is being targeted with the belief that economic pressure will force Washington – Tel Aviv’s greatest ally – to intervene in the Palestine issue,” Zahed Ur Rahman, a Dhaka-based political analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Rahman said there is a widespread notion among the common people in Bangladesh that Coke “directly funds some of the Israeli entities”.

In February this year, Coca-Cola sold its Bangladeshi bottling operations to a Turkish associate, Coca-Cola Icecek. The US-based company denied the move had anything to do with the declining sales.

But Rahman feels the involvement of “a company from another Muslim nation and subsequent public relations efforts” could be an attempt by Coke to regain its market position in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has seen a surge in the sales of Mojo, a previously obscure local cola brand which for the past two decades did not have a significant market share, but is now being seen by many as their alternative to Coke.

Popular actor Saraf Ahmed Jibon, who plays the shopkeeper in the advertisement, wrote on his Facebook page that Coca-Cola hired him to direct and act in the commercial.

“I simply presented the information and data provided by their agency. This project was only a part of my professional work … I have not supported Israel in any way, and I never will. My heart is always on the side of justice and humanity,” posted the 41-year-old actor.

But many in Bangladesh were not convinced.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, a prominent author and columnist, criticised the actor’s justification, commenting below Jibon’s Facebook post that “actors should verify the factual accuracy of a script before participating in an ad”.

“So you are justifying selling your humanity for the sake of money?” wrote another Facebook user.
IMF approves second review of Sri Lanka’s $2.9 bln bailout, warns of economic risks (Reuters)
Reuters [6/12/2024 11:05 PM, Uditha Jayasinghe and Kanishka Singh, 42991K, Neutral]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the second review of Sri Lanka’s $2.9 billion bailout, but the global lender warned the economy remains vulnerable despite signs of recovery and urged Colombo to do more to restructure a hefty debt burden.

In a statement on Wednesday, the IMF said it will release about $336 million to the crisis-hit country and noted that signs of an economic recovery were emerging.

However, in a note of caution, it said the economy "is still vulnerable and the path to debt sustainability remains knife-edged."

The IMF called for a swift finalization of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), which includes key lenders Japan and India, and final agreements with the Export‑Import Bank of China.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022 after its foreign exchange reserves sank to record lows.

A severe dollar shortage in the country sent inflation soaring to a high of 70%, its currency into freefall and the economy into a sharp 7.3% contraction.

The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilise economic conditions somewhat. The rupee currency has risen 7% in recent months and inflation slowed to 0.9% in May, though demand remains soft and the debt restructuring talks are keeping markets on edge.

Approval of the second review "signifies the continued commitment to our economic recovery and growth which is critical in reinforcing economic stability and resilience," Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe wrote on platform X.

The economy is starting to recover, inflation remains low, revenue collection is improving, and reserves continue to accumulate, the IMF said it is statement.

But "important vulnerabilities" associated with ongoing debt restructuring, revenue mobilization, reserve accumulation, and banks’ ability to support the recovery continue to cloud the outlook, it said.

"Directors underscored that restoring fiscal sustainability requires additional revenue measures underpinning the 2025 budget, further tax administration reforms, as well as limiting tax exemptions and making them more transparent," the statement added.

The IMF warned of potential domestic risks from "waning reform momentum," if consistent policies are not adhered to.

Sri Lanka will hold presidential elections before mid-October, and opposition parties have said they may review current government policies on taxation and IMF programme targets if they win.
Central Asia
South Korea’s Yoon seeks deals in Central Asian resource push (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [6/13/2024 1:18 AM, Steven Borowiec, 2M, Neutral]
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is using an ongoing visit to three resource-rich Central Asian countries to try to secure access to minerals that his resource-poor country’s flagship companies need to keep producing advanced batteries and semiconductors.

Yoon on Thursday was winding up a visit to Kazakhstan after arriving from Turkmenistan on Tuesday. He met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and his office announced the signing of 35 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in such areas as supply-chain cooperation and lithium exploration and commercialization.

The trip started with a stop in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat and will conclude later this week in Uzbekistan. Before leaving for the region, Yoon declared a policy vision, the "K-Silk Road," that he said would marry South Korea’s technical expertise with Central Asia’s resource wealth. In Kazakhstan, Yoon also met representatives from that country’s large community of ethnic Koreans.

The trip comes roughly one week after South Korea held a summit with 48 African countries, with access to critical mineral reserves on the agenda. A joint statement from that gathering highlighted "mutually beneficial cooperation and knowledge sharing, including at the mini-lateral level, to promote the development of industries related to critical minerals."

Yoon is underscoring such themes of mutual benefit in Central Asia as well. Increased diplomacy between South Korea and Central Asian countries has the potential to lead to "win-win" arrangements, said Sean O’Malley, a professor of international studies at Dongseo University.

"South Korea has infrastructure companies and tech companies that can give investment and can provide support for development in Central Asia, and this kind of diplomacy can secure access to the minerals that those companies need," O’Malley told Nikkei Asia.

Hanging over the endeavor is South Korea’s complicated relationship with China.

"This trip is about reducing reliance on certain partners who have a large share of the import market," O’Malley said. "The main country there would be China, though the Yoon administration is of course not coming out and saying that they are trying to reduce reliance on China in particular."

In recent years, South Korea has experienced shortages of key materials, including graphite and urea solution, when China decided to restrict exports. In both of those cases, authorities scrambled to find alternative sources to limit disruption to businesses.

Yoon’s recent diplomacy with Africa and Central Asia indicates an evolution of his foreign policy approach, analysts say.

Since taking office slightly more than two years ago, Yoon has made stronger relations with South Korea’s main ally, the U.S., the centerpiece of his foreign policy. Another key initiative has been rapprochement with Japan, with which South Korea shares a rocky diplomatic history, mainly due to disagreements over the legacy of Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

Yoon has spoken of the need to buttress security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo to deter possible aggression from their shared adversary North Korea while also cooperating to protect supply chains to ensure smooth movement of high-tech items on which their economies rely.

Japan and the U.S. make natural partners for South Korea due to shared commitments to the principles of free market economies and democratic political systems, Yoon has insisted.

But the approach has led to criticism from Yoon’s political opponents that he has risked South Korea’s economic and national security by focusing too narrowly on the U.S. and Japan while neglecting potential partners elsewhere and possibly drawing ire from China, South Korea’s largest trading partner.

In May, South Korea took a significant step toward jump-starting diplomacy with China by holding its first trilateral summit in more than four years with China and Japan. At the meeting in Seoul, the three countries agreed to work toward holding talks on a potential trilateral free trade agreement.

Political turmoil at home may be one factor driving Yoon to diversify his foreign policy efforts.

His ruling People Power Party was soundly defeated in legislative elections in April, meaning he will spend his remaining three years in office without having control of the legislature. However, under South Korea’s presidential system, Yoon is free to conduct foreign policy with minimal involvement by the opposition.

The Central Asia trip indicates that Yoon has been "broadening his horizons" since his electoral defeat, said Kim Joon-hyung, a professor of international relations at Handong Global University.

But Kim cautioned that both the trilateral summit with Beijing and Tokyo and Yoon’s Central Asia trip have been short on tangible outcomes. In both cases, South Korea will need to keep working, through further diplomacy, to iron out lasting deals.

"Mostly what comes from this is MOUs and other kinds of promises, not really solid contracts," Kim told Nikkei. "There is still a lack of specific, detailed plans."
South Korea, Kazakhstan sign minerals deals as Seoul moves to diversify supply chain (Reuters)
Reuters [6/12/2024 6:26 AM, Jack Kim and Joyce Lee, 42991K, Neutral]
South Korea has struck deals with Kazakhstan to allow its firms to explore for critical minerals in the Central Asian state, it said on Wednesday, as the home to major chip producers and leading carmaker Hyundai moves to diversify its supply chains.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is on a state visit to Kazakhstan following a similar trip to Turkmenistan this week, and ahead of a visit to Uzbekistan.

Wednesday’s memorandum of understanding on critical minerals supply chains will allow South Korean companies to take part in exploration for lithium, chrome, uranium and rare earth development, the industry ministry said.

South Korea is home to semiconductor producers and the world’s fifth-largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group, which is making a push for electrification. Stable supply of critical minerals is considered crucial, as the country lacks natural resources, and it is one of the world’s largest energy buyers.

Speaking after his summit with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, Yoon said the deal had been struck "as we pursue becoming a global pivotal state", with Kazakhstan’s growth policy "more important than ever as we face complex global crises and uncertainty".

During Yoon’s visit this week South Korea and Turkmenistan also signed agreements on energy resources development, which his office has said could lead to about $6 billion in orders.

They included South Korean builder Hyundai Engineering signing agreements with Turkmenistan’s state gas company and chemical company.

The two countries will cooperate on the additional development of Galkynysh gas field and the restoration of a polymer plant in Turkmenistan, Hyundai Engineering said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, South Korea hosted its first summit with the leaders of 48 African nations, looking to tap the continent’s mineral resources and potential as an export market.
Kazakhstan: More convictions in connection with Bloody January events (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [6/12/2024 4:14 PM, Almaz Kumenov, 57.6K, Neutral]
Kazakhstan is continuing to prosecute those connected to the Bloody January events of 2022. A trial in an Almaty district court resulted in the convictions on June 11 of 11 defendants accused of attacking government buildings amidst the bout of upheaval.

One of the defendants, Akzhol Zhandarbekov, was found guilty of “participation in mass riots,” “invasion of a building,” “use of violence against a government official,” and “taking a serviceman hostage.” He received a four-year prison sentence. The other 10 defendants, ranging in age from 22 to 53, were found guilty of “participation in mass riots” and “attacks on buildings and structures,” and each received sentences of one year and nine months.

Some of the defendants insisted they were innocent. Most said they were subjected to police brutality and coercive tactics while in custody.

The sentences on June 11 seemed lenient compared with prison terms handed out during earlier Bloody January trials. In November 2022, for example, an entrepreneur from the southern city of Kyzylorda, Kazybek Kudaibergenov, received a 17-year sentence for “participation in mass riots” and “attack on the life of a military serviceman in an emergency situation or during mass riots.” Kudaibergenov insisted he was innocent of the charges.

Under the same articles, in early 2023 a court in the Aktobe region in western Kazakhstan sentenced a local resident, 32-year-old Nursultan Isaev, to 15 years in prison. According to investigators, he “deliberately hit police officers with a car” during the riots.

Human Rights activists argue that the recently completed trial, like previous cases connected to the January events, ignored evidence beneficial to the accused, while relying heavily on circumstantial evidence. Kanat Beisebaev, a lawyer who defended one of those accused of participating in the riots, asserted that many of the defendants were bystanders, not protagonists.

“All judicial decisions should be made on the basis of facts, law and justice, but this is not happening,” Beisebaev said.

Almost 1,400 individuals have been convicted of criminal behavior in connection with Bloody January. Many of the judicial procedures involving Bloody January have been closed to the public. Thus, the proceedings have not shed much light on the chain of events and how it led to violent confrontations between protesters and security forces.
Kyrgyzstan: Prosecutors Seek 20 Years for Peaceful Critics (Human Rights Watch)
Human Rights Watch [6/12/2024 1:18 PM, Staff, 2.1M, Neutral]
The Kyrgyzstan prosecutors’ request for 20-year sentences for a group of government critics in the so-called Kempir-Abad case compounds an already shocking miscarriage of justice, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, International Partnership for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, People in Need, Civil Rights Defenders, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Freedom Now, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said today. Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should drop the politically motivated charges and immediately release the group, who were arrested arbitrarily, and some of whom have already spent up to 19 months in pretrial detention.

On June 10, 2024, prosecutors asked the Pervomaysky District Court in Bishkek to convict the defendants, who are charged with fomenting mass unrest and attempting to seize power by force, sentence them to 20 years in prison, and confiscate their property. The more than 20 defendants include human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers, and other civil society activists, who were arrested in October 2022 after peacefully campaigning against the now-completed transfer of jurisdiction over the Kempir-Abad dam to Uzbekistan as part of a border demarcation deal. It is expected that the trial will end and the verdict will be issued on June 13.

Criminal proceedings against the group have been underway since June 2023. Authorities classified the case as secret and the trial has taken place behind closed doors. This violates the defendants’ right to a fair and public hearing, guaranteed by article 14.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Kyrgyzstan is a party. While independent trial monitors have not had access to the trial, information from the defendants and their lawyers indicates that the proceedings have been marred by serious violations of due process and fair trial guarantees, set out in national law as well as in the ICCPR and other international human rights instruments, which Kyrgyzstan is obliged to respect.

For example, in violation of requirements under Kyrgyz law, the indictment was not read out loud to all the defendants, with the prosecution contending that reading it aloud only to some of them was enough because the charges against others were “identical.” Contrary to international norms, hearings have in some cases been held in the absence of defense lawyers, defense motions such as those to commission expert studies of court materials have repeatedly been rejected, defense witnesses have not been allowed to testify in court, and defense lawyers have not been granted adequate time to prepare their cases.

The prosecution appears to have presented no credible evidence to support the charges, with the primary evidence being doctored recordings of discussions between the defendants about planned peaceful protests.

Judicial and law enforcement authorities have also allegedly intimidated and harassed lawyers for representing their clients in this case.

Following their arrest in October 2022, the courts extended the defendants’ pretrial detention several times in violation of international standards, which require only using pretrial detention in exceptional cases and for as short a time as possible. As a result, the defendants spent many months in unsanitary conditions, with limited access to medical treatment and family visits.

Primarily due to health concerns, several defendants were eventually transferred to house arrest, or released with a travel ban pending the outcome of the trial. However, eight remain in custody going on 20 months.

On June 7, 2024, one of the defendants who had been transferred to house arrest, Nurlan Asanbekov, fell ill during the proceedings and was taken to a hospital, human rights defenders reported. According to them, Asanbekov had recently undergone a serious operation and is still recovering. However, police officers allegedly ordered the hospital doctors to discharge him later the same day. As a result, the rights defenders said, he tried to set himself on fire, but they convinced him not to. Nevertheless, his case illustrates the desperation felt by Kempir-Abad defendants because of their treatment, the rights defenders said.

The defendants in the Kempir-Abad case were arbitrarily arrested, their extended detention was unjustified, and they should never have been charged or prosecuted for any crime, far less the serious ones the authorities pursued, the eight human rights groups said. The authorities are blatantly retaliating against the activists’ peaceful and legitimate criticism and civic engagement against the transfer of the Kempir-Abad dam. Their criminal prosecution in a trial that violates international standards not only deals a severe blow to freedoms of expression, association, and assembly in Kyrgyzstan, but also to guarantees for access to justice and the rule of law in the country.

The authorities should prevent any further damage, drop the case, and secure the unconditional release of the defendants, the rights groups said. Kyrgyzstan’s international partners should support this call and demand justice for the defendants and accountability for those responsible for violations of their rights.

The case takes place against the backdrop of a dramatic deterioration in civic space in Kyrgyzstan, with civil liberties coming under unprecedented pressure. In recent months, authorities have increasingly cracked down on independent media, including by seeking the forced shutdown of a leading independent outlet, raiding others, and arbitrarily detaining and prosecuting independent journalists and media workers. There has been a growing number of criminal cases against outspoken activists-bloggers. Parliament also recently adopted a Russian-style law on “foreign representatives”, incompatible with Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights commitments, that subjects civil society organizations to undue government control and interference.

Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should end their crackdown on free speech and other fundamental freedoms in the country and put in place meaningful measures to safeguard human rights in line with Kyrgyzstan’s international obligations.
Rights Groups Demand Release Of Kyrgyz Protesters As Prosecutors Seek Lengthy Sentences (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [6/12/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 235K, Neutral]
Several international rights groups on June 12 demanded the immediate release of over two dozen Kyrgyz activists who could be facing 20 years in prison for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan.

Prosecutors in Kyrgyzstan asked a court in Bishkek on June 10 to hand down lengthy sentences to 27 members of a Kyrgyz group who protested a deal that saw Kyrgyzstan hand over the Kempir-Abad reservoir to Uzbekistan.

The 27 were arrested in 2022 and charged with organizing mass unrest and plotting to seize power. Their trial started in June 2023 and is expected to conclude on June 13.

The border agreement would be a landmark for two countries whose leaders could barely stand to be in the same room less than a decade ago. But it would require Kyrgyzstan to cede control over a strategic reservoir called Kempir-Abad.

In their statement, the rights groups said the request for lengthy sentences for each activist “compounds an already shocking miscarriage of justice.”

The groups include the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the International Partnership for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, People in Need, Civil Rights Defenders, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Freedom Now, and the International Federation for Human Rights.

They said the activists were “peacefully campaigning” and called on the authorities to drop all charges against them.

The trial is being held behind closed doors as case materials were designated classified. The rights groups said this “violates the defendants’ right to a fair and public hearing” under international law.

“While independent trial monitors have not had access to the trial, information from the defendants and their lawyers indicates that the proceedings have been marred by serious violations of due process and fair trial guarantees,” the groups said.

They charged that the prosecution had presented “no credible evidence to support the charges.

“Judicial and law enforcement authorities have also allegedly intimidated and harassed lawyers for representing their clients in this case,” they added.

The groups called on Kyrgyzstan’s international partners to support their call for the “unconditional release of the defendants” and demand “accountability for those responsible for violations of their rights.”

“Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should end their crackdown on free speech and other fundamental freedoms in the country and put in place meaningful measures to safeguard human rights in line with Kyrgyzstan’s international obligations,” the groups said.
Kyrgyz Officials Flout Environmental Laws At Seized Quarry Feeding Presidential Pet Project (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [6/12/2024 5:00 AM, Baktygul Chynybaeva and Nargiza Asekova, 1530K, Negative]
When Kyrgyzstan’s authorities seized a massive sand quarry on the outskirts of the capital city, locals who had complained for years about excessive dust from the site breathed easier.

But now the state is skirting environmental laws to build new production facilities at the site despite having seized it on the pretext of environmental protection -- and the mine is now providing materials to at least one major state residential development backed by President Sadyr Japarov, an RFE/RL investigation has found.

"When the government took over the quarry, we felt a sense of relief. However, they’ve increased mining activities, resulting in heavier dust pollution than before," Kenjegul Beishekeev, a resident who lives near the quarry, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service. "We don’t know how to stop it."

Environmental activists, residents, and an opposition lawmaker warn that two new factories that the mayor’s office announced would be built at the 67-hectare quarry site in Bishkek’s southeastern 12th microdistrict will exacerbate the city’s notorious air pollution.

The privately owned company whose quarry operations were taken over by the state accuses Japarov’s government of engineering the takeover to supply cheap sand and gravel materials to state construction projects.

Officials deny this claim, though RFE/RL observed dump trucks loading gravel at the quarry and driving to one of these projects: a $200 million residential development being built under Japarov’s ambitious housing initiative. The project’s general contractor is owned by the relative of a former Bishkek mayor who served several years in prison on a corruption conviction that was later overturned.

Japarov, who has tightened his control over the political landscape in the Central Asian nation of 7 million since coming to power in October 2020, has faced criticism from anti-corruption watchdogs over decreasing government transparency and a weakening rule of law.

Journalistic investigations have found that associates of the president and his son are benefiting financially from state contracts and infrastructure projects.

After opposition lawmaker Dastan Bekeshev passed residents’ complaints about the plans for the new factories to the Natural Resources Ministry, it responded that initial work on one of the plants had begun without proper environmental permitting.

"Air pollution previously came from the city center and the lower part of Bishkek. With the construction of these plants, dangerous chemicals will be swept into all of Bishkek," Bekeshev told RFE/RL.

In the meantime, operations continue at the quarry and the concrete-asphalt factory after the plant was briefly shut down by the government.

"The authorities promised us that the factory would be removed, and we hoped for clean air from the mountains," Gulai Apsultanova, who has lived near the quarry for more than two decades, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service. "Now the government is building its factories. Every morning we have dozens of trucks here with sand and gravel, stirring tons of dust."

‘The Consequences Are Obvious’

Mining at the sand quarry dates back to 1968, when the facility, officially called the Alamedinskoye sand mine, opened under Soviet rule.

In 1985, the city council of Bishkek -- then known by its Soviet name, Frunze -- shuttered an asphalt-concrete factory at the site, calling it a "significant source of air pollution in the city" and in violation of a ban on such facilities in residential and recreational areas, according to a document from Soviet-era archives obtained by RFE/RL.

That document is the lone record that RFE/RL reporters could find referring to the environmental impact of the massive mining pit that is in close proximity to residential buildings.

"There aren’t any independent environmental studies on the quarry, but the consequences are obvious: Industrial air pollution and the groundwater deficit will skyrocket," a Kyrgyz environmental activist told RFE/RL in response to questions about the Bishkek City Hall’s plans to build two concrete-asphalt plants at the quarry.

The activist spoke on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.

Bishkek suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the world, and a UNICEF report in November 2022 called air pollution "the biggest environmental risk factor for premature death and deterioration of health in Kyrgyzstan."

Operation of the sand quarry resumed in 1999, eight years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, under Kum-Shagyl, a leading producer of construction materials in the Kyrgyz capital that provided tens of thousands of tons of sand, gravel, concrete, and other materials annually to Bishkek’s rapidly growing construction sector.

Many residents in the area were less than enthused about the proximity of the quarry to their homes in an area relatively untouched by Bishkek’s brutal smog. In a June 2022 letter to Japarov, residents from the nearby settlement of Kok-Jar complained that the amount of dust emanating from the site was "unbearable" and called for the quarry’s closure.

Kum-Shagyl’s land-use license for the site was valid until 2025. But in February, the Bishkek mayor’s office and the head of the presidential administration -- with backing from police and Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (UKMK) -- shut down the company’s factory and sand quarry.

The company’s workers staged several days of demonstrations and appealed to Japarov for support but received no response.

But less than a month later, the sand quarry and factory were up and running again, only this time under the control of the Bishkek Mayor’s Office and Japarov’s administration, which had taken over the site thanks to a decree by the government.

That decree, which has been extended until August 29, said the move was necessary in order to eliminate environmental violations "that threaten people’s lives or health."

An environmental assessment commissioned by the UKMK and reviewed by RFE/RL, meanwhile, states that despite having been issued a license for its operations on a 16-hectare plot within the quarry, Kum-Shagyl’s operations there were illegal because the area is a source of groundwater and designated as "green space" for public use.

But if local residents had hopes that the factory would be razed in favor of a new park, those would soon be dashed by Bishkek’s mayor.

On March 30, less than two months after authorities seized the site, Bishkek Mayor Aibek Junushaliev announced the construction of two new asphalt-concrete plants with the stated aim of drastically boosting production of asphalt for road construction and repair.

One of these new factories is owned by Bishkek Asphalt Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of the city, and is being relocated to the quarry from a different site.

The Natural Resources Ministry told Bekeshev, the opposition lawmaker, that this plant is being put up "without any design estimates or permits" required under environmental laws.

Bishkek Deputy Mayor Jamalbek Yrsaliev, who oversees Bishkek Asphalt Service at city hall, told RFE/RL that the company "is in the final process of relocating its factory to the sand quarry in the 12th microdistrict."

"The construction of the new plants is expected to be completed within a month," Yrsaliev said.

A mayor’s office spokeswoman said, however, that the government could halt construction, though she provided no further details.

Nurbek Tenirberdiev, an environmental scientist at Kyrgyz National University, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service that quarries "should be located far from residential areas" and that the "first rule of running a quarry is to adhere to environmental standards."

"Factors such as wind direction and the quarry’s location in a windy area are crucial because the operation of any quarry, regardless of whether it produces metal or other construction materials, will cause air pollution," Tenirberdiev said. "Industrial dust carried by the wind to residential areas can lead to serious consequences."

Bishkek City Hall said in April that the mayor, Djunushaliev, visited the quarry to inspect preparations for the installation of a plant at the site owned by Bishkek Asphalt Service.

The mayor’s office told RFE/RL on June 6 that construction of the planned factories had not begun.

One government source told RFE/RL that while the quarry is, on paper, managed by the mayor’s office, in reality it is controlled by Japarov’s administration.

E-mailed questions to Japarov’s administration about the quarry’s operations went unanswered as of publication.

Whoever controls the site, every day dump trucks are carrying gravel and sand away from the quarry -- including to a large development project that is part of Japarov’s social-housing program.

‘Hostile Takeover’

On a recent weekday in Bishkek, RFE/RL observed at least two dump trucks leaving the construction site of the $200 million residential development called Dastan City and driving 1.5 kilometers to enter the sand quarry through one of its western gates.

Dastan City, construction of which began in April, is set to feature 9,000 apartments, 500 of which are to be allocated for state workers under reduced mortgage rates. The project is part of Japarov’s program to boost social housing for bureaucrats that he launched by decree in January.

The state contract to build the Dastan City complex was awarded to the Bishkek company Expostroy Kurulush by the government’s State Mortgage Company, though details about the selection process for the government tender have not been made public.

Almanbet Shykmamatov, head of the State Mortgage Company, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service that he did not have any information about the tender because it was awarded prior to his tenure at the company.

The owner of Expostroy Kurulush is the nephew of former Bishkek Mayor Nariman Tuleev, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2013 after being convicted of corruption. His conviction was later overturned by the Kyrgyz Supreme Court.

Kum-Shagyl is now challenging in the courts what it calls the state’s "hostile takeover" of its mining and production operations at the quarry. And the company alleges that Japarov’s government is now using the seized assets to source cheap construction materials for key state construction projects like Dastan City.

"Currently, all the materials from our factory -- concrete, sand, and gravel -- are being sent to state construction sites," Kum-Shagyl Director Aidin Ibraev told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service.

The allegation last week made it to the floor of the Kyrgyz parliament, where lawmaker Gulia Kojokulova of the opposition party Butun Kyrgyzstan called on Kyrgyz prosecutors and security services to "pay closer attention to this case."

"While I support social housing, it’s alleged that these construction companies want to take raw materials like sand and gravel for free," Kojokulova said.

Expostroy Kurulus Director Kanybek Tuleev denied sourcing materials from the sand quarry for the Dastan City project but declined to specify which companies were supplying the development.

"Currently we don’t need sand and gravel for our construction. We are taking concrete from our long-term partners," he told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service.

Bishkek Deputy Mayor Yrsaliev -- who oversees the Bishkek Asphalt Service that is now operating Kum-Shagyl’s former factory at the sand quarry -- told RFE/RL that the company had moved "all of its equipment" to the sand quarry in question but was "sourcing sand and gravel from other quarries."

The Natural Resources Ministry told RFE/RL that Bishkek Asphalt Service has not been issued "any licenses giving them the right to use subsoil."

Yrsaliev said the company is not supplying the Dastan City development.

From the nearby hills overlooking the sand quarry, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service observed numerous orange trucks being filled with gravel at the sand quarry and heading to the Dastan City construction site.

Asked who is currently mining at the quarry, which is controlled on paper by city hall, the deputy mayor said: "We don’t have that information. It could be that some private companies are mining."

For residents living near the quarry, the issue of who controls the open-pit mine and where its sand and gravel are being delivered appears to be of secondary importance.

"I wanted these large windows because I wanted to plant flowers here," homeowner Apsultanova, who has battled for years to have the quarry closed, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service. "But the factory is right in front of my window. I can’t open it. If I do, dust will cover us.

"I’ve lost hope that this issue will be solved," Apsultanova added. "The quarry is becoming even bigger than before."
Twitter
Afghanistan
Sara Wahedi
@SaraWahedi
[6/12/2024 11:00 AM, 79.4K followers, 14 retweets, 45 likes]
The Taliban launched 3 new radio stations to "combat foreign cultural propaganda and invasion." Radio is the most popular media in Afghanistan. In my Kabul research on urban space/propaganda, a man I interviewed who listens to the radio everyday now questions "human rights."

Bilal Sarwary
@bsarwary
[6/12/2024 4:07 PM, 253.8K followers, 15 retweets, 37 likes]
#AFG A Taliban security vehicle was blown up by a road side bomb in Enjeel district Herat province yesterday evening. According to eye witnesses and residents, “ At least ONE Talib was killed and THREE Talibs were wounded.” Photos too grotesque to share. The Taliban vehicle was targeted between Malaaan and Pashtun bridge area in Enjeel district

Bilal Sarwary
@bsarwary
[6/12/2024 12:14 PM, 253.8K followers, 23 retweets, 63 likes]
Last month, 17 members of the Taliban were detained by the notorious GDI, accused of working for ISIS Khorasan. These are figures for one month and one region. These 17 individuals in the west of the country included officials of the GDI itself, members of the Taliban Interior Ministry, and officers of the Al-Faruq 207 Corps of the army for Taliban’s Defense ministry. “Radical elements” within the Taliban are unhappy with their top leadership for not doing enough, both domestically and internationally, to protect their radical interests and global Jihadi aspirations.

Jahanzeb Wesa
@JahanzebWesa
[6/12/2024 6:44 PM, 2.5K followers, 7 retweets, 14 likes]
—Over 1000 days too many it shouldn’t have even been 1 day!
—Afghan women and girls spend without education, freedom, or basic human rights!
— the international community should take serious steps about protecting women’s rights in Afghanistan! #LetAfghanGirlsLearn #Women #UN

Jahanzeb Wesa
@JahanzebWesa
[6/12/2024 6:36 PM, 2.5K followers, 2 retweets, 4 likes]
The Taliban have closed a health institute in Bamyan province and jailed its director because students clapped and whistled during a graduation ceremony, according to multiple sources in the province: https://rukhshana.com/en/taliban-closes-a-health-institute-in-bamyan-jails-director-over-alleged-clapping-and-whistling

Jahanzeb Wesa
@JahanzebWesa
[6/12/2024 11:20 AM, 2.5K followers, 1 like]
Human Rights Watch says that the USA had provided education for girls in Afghanistan for about 20 years, and now it should support Afghan girls by joining the "Safe Schools" statement. HRW added that 120 countries, excluding the USA, have signed a declaration of "safe schools".

Zhao Xing
@ChinaEmbKabul
[6/12/2024 9:23 AM, 28.5K followers, 28 retweets, 187 likes]
I met with Mr. Haji Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan. We exchanged views on regional connectivity, the construction of the Wakhan Corridor, and the export of agricultural products from Afghanistan.

Zhao Xing
@ChinaEmbKabul
[6/12/2024 9:23 AM, 28.5K followers, 1 retweet, 10 likes]
We both agreed to continue deepening bilateral cooperation in the economic and commercial fields.

Zarqa Yaftali
@ZarqaYaftali
[6/13/2024 1:13 AM, 3.5K followers, 8 retweets, 7 likes]
It has been 1,000 days since female students were deprived of their right to education by the Taliban. Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where female students from grade 6 onwards are denied the opportunity to attend the school. This egregious violation of human rights demands immediate and decisive action from the international community. The continued education ban not only undermines the future of Afghanistan girls but also threatens the broader progress and stability of Afghanistan. If the international community fails to uphold its commitments and obligations toward Afghanistan women, the current situation will only worsen. What is now 1,000 days of educational deprivation could easily extend to 2,000 or even 3,000 days, creating an insurmountable gap and devastating long-term consequences for Afghanistan.
Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[6/12/2024 3:00 AM, 6.7M followers, 283 retweets, 1K likes]
Thank you, Excellency, for your gracious remarks. We appreciate and value Finland’s support for Pakistan’s candidature as non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for the term 2025-2026. As a member of UNSC, Pakistan will work to uphold international law and the UN Charter.
India
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[6/12/2024 12:33 PM, 98.7M followers, 6.2K retweets, 49K likes]
Upon reaching back to Delhi after today’s two oath taking ceremonies, chaired a meeting to review the situation in the wake of the fire mishap in Kuwait, where people of Indian origin have been affected. GoI is doing everything possible to assist those affected by this gruesome fire tragedy. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2024856

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[6/12/2024 9:43 AM, 98.7M followers, 7.8K retweets, 60K likes]
It’s a historic day in Odisha! With the blessings of my sisters and brothers of Odisha, @BJP4Odisha is forming its first-ever government in the state. I attended the swearing-in ceremony in Bhubaneswar. Congratulations to Shri Mohan Charan Majhi on taking oath as CM and to Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo as well as Smt. Pravati Parida on taking oath as Deputy CMs. Congratulations also to the others who took oath as Ministers. With the blessings of Mahaprabhu Jagannath, I am confident this team will usher in record development in Odisha and improve the lives of countless people.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[6/12/2024 8:01 AM, 98.7M followers, 6.2K retweets, 36K likes]
The fire mishap in Kuwait City is saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. The Indian Embassy in Kuwait is closely monitoring the situation and working with the authorities there to assist the affected.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[6/12/2024 4:00 AM, 98.7M followers, 19K retweets, 148K likes]
Attended the oath taking ceremony of the new Andhra Pradesh Government. Congratulations to Shri @ncbn Garu on becoming the Chief Minister and also to all the others who took oath as Ministers in the Government. The @JaiTDP, @JanaSenaParty and @BJP4Andhra Government is fully committed to taking AP to new heights of glory and fulfilling the aspirations of the state’s youth.

Vice-President of India
@VPIndia
[6/12/2024 10:13 AM, 1.5M followers, 23 retweets, 317 likes]
Shri Pralhad Joshi Ji, Hon’ble Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of New and Renewable Energy, called on the Hon’ble Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at Vice-President’s Enclave today. @JoshiPralhad @mnreindia @jagograhakjago

Vice-President of India
@VPIndia
[6/12/2024 9:28 AM, 1.5M followers, 15 retweets, 303 likes]
Shri Manohar Lal Ji, Hon’ble Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs; and Minister of Power, called on the Hon’ble Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at Vice-President’s Enclave today. @mlkhattar @MoHUA_India @MinOfPower

Vice-President of India
@VPIndia
[6/12/2024 7:32 AM, 1.5M followers, 33 retweets, 258 likes]
Dr. L Murugan Ji, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs called on the Hon’ble Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at Vice-President’s Enclave today. @Murugan_MoS @MIB_India @mpa_india

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[6/12/2024 2:14 PM, 3.1M followers, 160 retweets, 2.1K likes]
Congratulate Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi; Deputy CMs Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Smt. Pravati Parida and to others who took oath today in Odisha. Confident that under PM @narendramodi’s leadership, they will take Odisha to newer heights of development and prosperity.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[6/12/2024 1:46 PM, 3.1M followers, 305 retweets, 2K likes]
Spoke to Kuwaiti FM Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya on the fire tragedy in Kuwait. Apprised of the efforts made by Kuwaiti authorities in that regard. Was assured that the incident would be fully investigated and that responsibility will be fixed. Urged the early repatriation of the mortal remains of those who lost their lives. He emphasized that those injured were getting the requisite medical attention. We will review the situation after MoS @KVSinghMPGondareaches Kuwait tomorrow.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[6/12/2024 5:18 AM, 3.1M followers, 1.3K retweets, 8.2K likes]
Deeply shocked by the news of the fire incident in Kuwait city. There are reportedly over 40 deaths and over 50 have been hospitalized. Our Ambassador has gone to the camp. We are awaiting further information. Deepest condolences to the families of those who tragically lost their lives. Wish early and full recovery to those who have been injured. Our Embassy will render the fullest assistance to all concerned in this regard.
NSB
Awami League
@albd1971
[6/12/2024 9:06 AM, 638.6K followers, 25 retweets, 60 likes]
Prime Minister #SheikhHasina received the Local Adaptation Champions Award of the @GCAdaptation as #Bangladesh won the maiden award for its leading role in introducing local adaptation programmes to face #climatechange impacts. https://link.albd.org/4rj93@UNDP_BD @ProfPatrick_GCA

Awami League
@albd1971
[6/12/2024 7:06 AM, 638.6K followers, 22 retweets, 55 likes]
Prime Minister #SheikhHasina has pledged to rebuild and renovate houses destroyed by #CycloneRemal, stressing the government’s commitment to serve people. "The government stands by those affected by Cyclone Remal. All those whose houses have been destroyed or damaged will have them reconstructed and renovated," PM Hasina said. https://en.somoynews.tv/news/2024-06-11/GX5547XI #SocialSecurity #DisasterManagement

Awami League
@albd1971
[6/12/2024 6:05 AM, 638.6K followers, 29 retweets, 93 likes]
Prime Minister #SheikhHasina said the government is working to ensure civic amenities for all the rural people throughout the country. “We’ll bring every village under the coverage of civic amenities and the people of every village will enjoy the civic amenities,” she said. https://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/every-village-to-be-brought-under-civic-amenities-pm-hasina/137264

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maldives
@MoFAmv
[6/12/2024 5:05 AM, 54.2K followers, 20 retweets, 36 likes]
#FOSIM holds Distinguished Speaker Series with Former Ambassador Abdul Azeez Yoosuf this morning. Ambassador Azeez shared his insights and experience on the topic “Balancing Relations in Diplomacy”. The session was attended by diplomats from the Ministry and Missions.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maldives
@MoFAmv
[6/12/2024 4:47 AM, 54.2K followers, 22 retweets, 33 likes]
IOM Chief of Mission for Maldives & Sri Lanka @Saratdashiom paid a farewell call on Foreign Secretary Inaya. Both sides acknowledged the close coordination between IOM & Maldives, with the hope to further enhance efforts to address migration & human trafficking issues. @UNmigration

Moosa Zameer
@MoosaZameer
[6/12/2024 5:09 AM, 13.4K followers, 37 retweets, 50 likes]
Participated in the event, ‘Falastheenaa Eku Dhivehin’ (Maldivians in Solidarity with Palestine) Telethon, led by President Dr @MMuizzu. This nationwide campaign by @psmnewsmv aims to raise crucial funds to assist the people of Palestine. Join us in active efforts of solidarity and support to assist Palestinians at this time of heartbreak and grief. #Maldives #SupportPalestine #FalastheenaEkuDhivehin

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[6/12/2024 2:37 PM, 5.7K followers, 5 retweets, 22 likes]
Visited our Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow today. Proud of the dedicated team working tirelessly to strengthen our ties with Russia and support our community here. Looking forward to furthering our bilateral relationship and exploring new avenues of cooperation.

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[6/12/2024 1:25 PM, 5.7K followers, 25 retweets, 119 likes]
IMF’s approved the 2nd review of Sri Lanka’s program. This achievement is a testament to our dedication to driving forward economic reforms and securing a prosperous future for all Sri Lankans. Onward and upward! #Progress #SriLanka #IMF

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[6/12/2024 7:58 AM, 5.7K followers, 5 retweets, 7 likes]
Foreign Minister Ali Sabry calls for the Global South to come together https://youtu.be/K1F-yJaLS-c?si=OOBoeC3YaxrqFCIa via @YouTube
Central Asia
UNODC Central Asia
@UNODC_ROCA
[6/12/2024 11:22 AM, 2.4K followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
Opening Ceremony of the Situation Centre in the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Justice took place today. W/ support of @EUinKyrgyzstan/UNODC-funded #JUST4ALL the Centre will act as a real-time data analysis hub on Penitentiary & Probation & Forensics w/aim of enhancing #criminaljustice reform.

UNODC Central Asia
@UNODC_ROCA
[6/12/2024 8:40 AM, 2.4K followers, 1 retweet, 1 like]
Anticorruption Summer School for university teachers and compliance officers launched in Kazakhstan with support from @StateINL, @USembassyKAZ and #Pavlodar province Akimat. Effective communication tools, quality management standards and UNODC #GRACE initiative are in focus.

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[6/12/2024 11:24 PM, 4.8K followers, 1 like]
Meeting of the Minister with the Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15210/meeting-of-the-minister-with-the-secretary-general-of-the-conference-on-interaction-and-confidence-building-measures-in-asia

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[6/12/2024 11:23 PM, 4.8K followers, 1 like]
Presentation of a copy of credentials to the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15209/presentation-of-a-copy-of-credentials-to-the-vice-minister-for-foreign-affairs

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[6/12/2024 11:22 PM, 4.8K followers, 1 like]
Meeting of the Minister with the Deputy Secretary General of the UN on economic and social Affairs https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15208/meeting-of-the-minister-with-the-deputy-secretary-general-of-the-un-on-economic-and-social-affairs

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[6/12/2024 11:20 PM, 4.8K followers, 1 like]
Meeting with the Executive Director of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15207/meeting-with-the-executive-director-of-the-national-committee-on-american-foreign-policy

Uzbekistan MFA
@uzbekmfa
[6/12/2024 10:10 AM, 7.4K followers, 2 retweets, 3 likes]
On June 12, 2024, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Muzaffar Madrakhimov met with the Regional Representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for Central Asia (@OHCHR_CentrAsia) Matilda Bogner. http://mfa.uz/36015

{End of Report}
To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.