June 21,2023:Russia has accused Ukraine of planning to attack annexed Crimea with long-range United States and British missiles and warned it would retaliate if that happened.
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu told a meeting of military officials on Tuesday that Moscow possesses information that Ukraine plans to strike Crimea with US-supplied HIMARS long-range rocket systems and British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
“The use of these missiles outside the zone of our special military operation would mean that the United States and Britain would be fully dragged into the conflict and would entail immediate strikes on decision-making centres in Ukraine,” Shoigu said.
Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and considers it to be outside the scope of its invasion – which is focused in eastern and southern Ukraine, where Ukraine is fighting to retake territory.
Kyiv, which says it is battling for its survival in a war of colonial conquest, said it wants to reclaim all of its territory, including Crimea, the home of Russia’s Black Sea naval base.
Shoigu said Ukraine’s armed forces carried out 263 attacks on Russian positions since June 4, referring to what Moscow regards as the start of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
“Thanks to the smart and selfless actions of our units, all of them [the attacks] have been repelled. The enemy has not accomplished its goals,” Shoigu said.
June 21,2023:China has called reported comments by Biden “extremely absurd and irresponsible”.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday that Biden’s comments “go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China’s political dignity”.
US President Joe Biden has likened his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to a dictator, just a day after his top diplomat left Beijing following a visit designed to ease the two countries’ strained ties.
Speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in northern California on Tuesday, Biden said Xi had been angered over an incident in February when a Chinese balloon – which Washington says was used for spying – flew over the United States before it was eventually shot down.
“The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there,” Biden said.
June 17,2023:Mali has called on the United Nations to withdraw its peacekeeping mission from the country “without delay,” denouncing its “failure” to respond to security challenges.
Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, who is part of Mali’s interim military authorities, told a UN Security Council meeting on Friday that the peacekeeping force known as MINUSMA should withdraw its troops from the West African nation.
El Ghassim Wane, the head of the UN mission in Mali, said after the meeting of the 15-member council that conducting UN peacekeeping operations was “nearly impossible” without the consent of the host country.
“It’s a decision that the council has to make,” he told reporters. “But the point I’m making, and I believe it’s a point that everyone agrees on, is that peacekeeping is based on the principle of consent from the host country and absent that consent, of course, operations are nearly impossible.”
Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey said that the mandate for the mission is due to expire at the end of the month.
“The foreign minister had expressed concern that the UN had been in the country for 10 years and the violence and insecurity it was sent there to stop had only gotten worse,” she said, reporting from UN headquarters in New York City.
“He said this has resulted in a crisis of confidence for the Malian people. There have been protests in Mali calling on UN peacekeepers to leave.”
UN Security Council members must adopt a resolution to extend MINUSMA’s mandate by June 30. That requires at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, United Kingdom or France to pass.
Islamabad, June 17,2023: Pakistan have named a 16-member squad for their upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka expected to be held in July.
The squad is headlined by the return of star pacer Shaheen Afridi, who last featured in the longest format in July 2022 when he suffered a knee injury in a Test against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan have also decided to include two uncapped players in the squad, with batter Mohammad Huraira and all-rounder Aamir Jamal getting call-ups.
The squad will be led by Babar Azam, who will have the services of fellow stars like Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah available at his disposal,the ICC reported.
Pakistan will assemble in Karachi on July 3 for preparations ahead of their scheduled departure on July 9, with the schedule of the tour expected to be announced soon.
The two Test matches will form a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle for the sides.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood.
Kabul [Afghanistan], June 17,2023: The UN children’s agency has said it is holding discussions with the Taliban over “timelines and practicalities” for a possible required handover of its education programmes and that classes would continue in the meantime, TOLO News reported.
TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul.
Aid officials said that the Taliban had signalled international organisations could no longer be involved in education projects, in a move criticised by the UN but not yet confirmed by Taliban authorities.
As per UNICEF, it had received assurances from the Taliban’s Education Ministry that its community-based classes, which educate 500,000 students, would continue while they discussed the matter.
UNICEF’s Afghanistan spokesperson, Samantha Mort, said: “As the lead agency for the education cluster in Afghanistan, UNICEF is engaged in constructive discussions with the de facto Ministry of Education and appreciates the commitment from the de facto minister to keep all … classes continuing while discussions take place about timelines and practicalities.”
“In order to minimize disruption to children’s learning, it is imperative that any handover to national NGOs is done strategically and includes comprehensive assessment and capacity building,” she said.
A Taliban spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Taliban’s Ministry of Education has not publicly confirmed the policy.
Taliban, which took power in 2021, closed most secondary schools to girls, stopped female students from attending universities and stopped many Afghan women from working for aid groups and the United Nations.
International organisations have been heavily involved in education projects, and UNICEF made an agreement with the Taliban to run community classes before they took over the country, as per TOLO News.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, on Thursday, said that nearly 16 million children in Afghanistan need urgent humanitarian aid, warning of a “children’s crisis,” Khaama Press reported.
“In a country with almost 16 million children in need of protection and humanitarian assistance, in a country in which way too many kids are burdened with responsibilities way beyond their age, in a country where the children’s rights are eroded every day, having a space like this offers the kids a respite, a safe and secure space where the kids can rest, can relax, can play and can make friends,” UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, Fran Equiza said.
Imphal, June 16,2023: Unknown persons have set ablaze the residence of Union Minister R K Ranjan at Kongba Nandeibam Leikai here in Manipur, police said on Friday.
Residents of the area however managed to douse the fire late on Thursday night.
Some portion of the house and vehicles were burnt.
Ranjan, the Minister of State for Education, was not in his residence when the fire occured Thursday night.
Security has been beefed up in the area.
The authorities have decided to relax curfew will till 1 pm in Imphal West and Imphal East districts. However, there was no relaxation in some vulnerable parts of the state capital.
Manipur government has also extended the ban on internet till June 20.
The ban has been enforced since May 3 when violence started at Chura chandpur district.
New Delhi , June 16,2023: Cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ is expected to weaken further by Friday morning and move into a ‘depression’ in the subsequent evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said today in the wee hours.
IMD officials said that the ‘severe’ cyclonic storm Biparjoy lay centred over the Saurashtra-Kutch region and is expected to move northeastwards, adding that heavy rains are expected in Rajasthan on Friday.
Cyclone Biparjoy, which had been brewing over the Arabian Sea for several days, has made landfall on Gujarat’s coastal area and has also affected the train services. Due to this, around 99 trains running through, originating or terminating in Biparjoy-affected areas of Gujarat, will remain cancelled or short-terminated, Western Railway said.
Officials said that several relief and rescue teams are on alert as tens of thousands of people were evacuated to safe locations in Gujarat.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a review meeting at the State Emergency Operation Center in Gandhinagar on Thursday morning.
Earlier on Wednesday, the IMD issued a Red alert for the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts, saying that VSCS (Very Severe Cyclonic Storm) ‘Biparjoy’ will cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts, between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port, by Thursday evening.
Warnings about extensive damage to temporary housing structures and falling of trees and branches due to high-speed winds, high tides and heavy rainfall have already been issued by India Meteorological Department.
Hyderabad, June 16,2023: India has only 2300 registered financial planners, despite its huge population, Anjaneya Gautam, Director – IFD Group at JM Financial Services Ltd said on Thursday.
Worldwide, there are 2.13 lakh such professionals.
Addressing a Seminar on Financial Planning and Investment Opportunities, organised by the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) here, Anjaneya said financial planning is more than money, “it is behaviour. Financial Planners are behavioural managers”.
June 15,2023: Lebanon’s parliament has – for the 12th time – failed to elect a president and break a political deadlock that has gripped the country for months.
Lawmakers held a session on Wednesday to pick a replacement for former President Michel Aoun, whose term ended last October, but disagreements prevented them from reaching the required thresholds.
The main competition was between Jihad Azour, a former finance minister and senior official with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Sleiman Frangieh, leader of the Marada party whose family has a long history in Lebanese politics.
The Lebanese Parliament requires 86 from a possible maximum of 128 lawmakers, or two-thirds, to elect a new leader in the first round of voting.
Azour, who is supported by the opposition to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, edged higher than his opponent during the first round with 59 votes to Frangieh’s 51, but failed to achieve the required majority.
Eighteen lawmakers cast blank ballots or protest votes or voted for minority candidates.
The bloc led by the powerful Hezbollah withdrew after the initial round, breaking quorum and preventing a second round of voting, where candidates required only a majority of 65 votes to secure the presidency.
Lebanon has a complex confessional political system based on the National Pact, an unwritten pact between the country’s political blocs that was first agreed in 1943 to set out faith-based representation and power-sharing.
Based on the pact, the president and the commander of the army need to be Maronite Christians, while the prime minister must be Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker Shia Muslim.
The deputy speaker of parliament and deputy prime minister positions are held by Greek Orthodox Christians, and the armed forces chief of the general staff of the armed forces is always Druze.
Gujarat, June 14,2023: Around 4,500 people have been shifted from their homes to shelter homes as a precautionary safety measure ahead of cyclone Biparjoy reaching the coast of Gujarat, informed the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Parth Talsania.
While speaking to ANI, Talsania informed, “We have shifted 4,500 people from the coastal areas to various shelter houses. Preparations to meet food and medical needs are also made at the shelter homes. We are closely monitoring the situation.”
He further informed that cyclone Biparjoy has moved slightly to the west and is less likely to make landfall at the Dwarka coast. But a wind speed of around 100 to 80 kilometres is expected.
He informed that one NDRF team has been deployed in Dwarka and Okha each. One SDRF and one army team specialised in clearing roads is also on alert.
SDM further informed that Minister of Home for State Harsh Sanghvi and Fisheries Minister Purshottam Rupala are present in Dwarka and are closely monitoring the situation.
The district administration of Dwarka is coordinating with all agencies, Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force and Army.
He further informed that though the cyclone has moved slightly westward and is less likely to make landfall in Dwarka, the situation is not normal. Winds will blow with a speed of 100 km which can be fatal if not taken care of.
“I request all residents stay indoors and fill basic groceries like milk and bread,” he added.
The Indian Meteorological Department is yet to confirm the westward movement of the cyclone.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday sounded a Red alert as cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ warning for the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts in Gujarat.