ADDIS ABABA, 24 December, 2020, (TON): Gunmen killed more than 100 people in a dawn attack in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia on Wednesday, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said, as residents described fleeing the latest deadly assault in an area bedevilled by ethnic violence.

Wednesday's attack in the Benishangul-Gumuz region came a day after a visit by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

In a statement, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said the attack took place in the village of Bekoji, which lies in an area home to multiple ethnic groups.

"More than 100 people have been killed in fires and shooting perpetrated by armed men" during the pre-dawn attack, the commission said.

Beyene Melese, a spokesperson for the state government, blamed what he called "anti-peace elements" for the attack.

Africa’s second-most populous nation has been grappling with regular outbreaks of deadly violence since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was appointed in 2018 and accelerated democratic reforms that loosened the state’s iron grip on regional rivalries.

Elections due next year have further inflamed simmering tensions over land, power and resources.

The violence in the area is not thought to be related to a ground and air offensive launched by the government in the northern Tigray region last month.

Hundreds, or even thousands, of people are thought to have been killed in that conflict, while about 50,000 have fled to neighbouring Sudan.

BAGHDAD, 24 December, 2020, (TON): The Iraqi government has urged the US to reconsider its decision of granting pardons to four former contractors of private security company Blackwater who were convicted over the 2007 killing of 14 civilians in Baghdad.

US President Donald Trump caused outrage on Tuesday night by pardoning four mercenaries from the Blackwater security company who were jailed for a massacre known as Iraq’s “Bloody Sunday.”

In an official statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was following up on US President Donald Trump's decision to pardon the contractors who carried out the massacre September 16, 2007, in Baghdad's al-Nisour Square, which caused international denouncement.

"The Ministry believes that this decision did not take into account the seriousness of the crime committed, and unfortunately ignores the dignity of the victims as well as the feelings and rights of their families," the statement said.

Blackwater was a private security contractor company hired to protect US personnel in Iraq.

The four guards Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Nicholas Slatten were part of an armoured convoy that opened fire indiscriminately with machine-guns, grenade launchers and a sniper on a crowd of unarmed people in a square in the Iraqi capital.

The Nisour Square massacre was one of the lowest episodes of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

It was accused by the Iraqi government of using excessive force in Baghdad.

An initial prosecution was thrown out by a federal judge – sparking outrage in Iraq – but the then vice-president, Joe Biden, promised to pursue a fresh prosecution, which succeeded in 2015.

According to the US Justice Department, at about noon that day several of the contractors opened fire in and around Nisoor Square, a busy roundabout that was immediately adjacent to the heavily-fortified Green Zone.

When they stopped shooting, at least 14 Iraqi civilians were dead - 10 men, two women and two boys, aged nine and 11.

Latten was found guilty of committing first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2019. Following a retrial, Slough, Liberty and Heard subsequently had their sentences reduced to 15, 14 and 12 years, respectively.

Iraqis have reacted with outrage to Donald Trump’s move to pardon four security guards from the security firm Blackwater who were jailed for a 2007 massacre that sparked an outcry over the use of mercenaries in war.

WASHINGTON, 23 December 2020, (TON):  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), together with 30 humanitarian partners, on Tuesday appealed for 156 million U.S. dollars to meet "the critical humanitarian needs" of Ethiopian refugees fleeing the Tigray conflict through the first half of 2021. Leaders in Tigray demands UN to intervene to stop Ethiopian government from carrying out airstrikes and missile attacks leading to massacre of Muslims.

The urgent financial appeal is also expected to strengthen the preparedness to receive refugees in other countries in the region in case of further refugee movements, said a statement from the UN refugee agency, quoting its spokesperson Andrej Mahecic at a Tuesday press briefing in Geneva.

Weeks of fights in northern Ethiopia's Tigray regional state between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Ethiopian Defense Forces have reportedly left hundreds of people dead, thousands displaced, and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

More than 52,000 refugees have fled Tigray into eastern Sudan over the past six weeks, according to the UN refugee agency.

The refugees are protesting that  partner groups under the UN flag are facilitating only Christians since the situation in Tigray escalated after months of growing political tensions.  

NEW DELHI, 23 December 2020, (TON):  The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, which is acting as coordination committee of the farmer unions on Wednesday responded to the proposal sent by the Prime Minister Modi’s government, saying they are ready to talk but the government must stop defaming their protest movement. The officials said that several rounds of talks have been held with the representatives of the farmers' organisations and they will soon come to an amicable solution about the farmers' issues.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary, said that farmers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari are in favour of the new Union farm laws. However, farmers from certain regions have fallen into the trap of the opposition parties which are instigating them. He said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is willing to change the provisions in the farm laws that may harm the farmers, but tell me how this will affect the farmers."

The Union Minister said that he is well aware of how the bidding for farmers' produce takes place in the mandis run by the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) and how they are forced to sell their crops at low prices.

He said the Central government has given them an option in the new farm laws to help them sell their crops at a higher price so that the competition increases by which the working of the APMCs will also improve. He informed that the provisions in the farm laws related to contract farming are also in the interests of farmers and its benefits will be seen in the coming days.

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha has announced that they would continue with the protests on Thursday, 24 December 2020, and not compromise until government accepts their demands.

DHAKA, 23 December 2020, (TON): While briefing with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen at state guesthouse Padma today, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu lauded Bangladesh's progress, saying that the country has become a "rising star" in South Asia under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said the Rohingya issue has become a huge burden for Bangladesh and assured Dhaka of Ankara's continuous support to resolve the crisis.

The Rohingyas must return to their homeland in a safe, voluntary and dignified manner, he said.

He supported the efforts of Bangladesh government to give Rohingyas better living conditions by relocating them to Bhasan Char until the repatriation takes place.

He suggested the government of Bangladesh to work closely with the United Nations and its agencies in this regard.

The Turkish foreign minister sought stronger support from the international community in terms of burden-sharing, not just with appreciative words but also with concrete steps.

He said, "We don't want to hear only words, until they return, they deserve better living conditions."

Bangladesh and Turkey are keen to open a new chapter in their relations with an emphasis on stronger trade and investment relations.

PARIS, 23 December, 2020, (TON): Three French police officers were shot dead by a man when they arrived at a home in Saint-Just, a remote village in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France, to respond to a domestic violence call, police said on Wednesday.

A man who allegedly shot three police officers dead has now been found dead, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Wednesday.

Police approached the house shortly after midnight and were hit by gunfire as they attempted to rescue a woman, local media reported.

The man initially shot and killed one officer and wounded another. Two other officers were then shot dead, according to the Clermont-Ferrand prosecutor’s office.

The woman, who was the reported victim of domestic violence, sought refuge on the roof of the house and was rescued safely by police.

A fourth officer was also injured in the shooting. The 48-year-old shooter had set fire to his house, according to Darmanin.

The three gendarme officers killed in the incident were aged 21, 37, and 45, the ministry said in a statement.

President Macron expressed solidarity with France’s police force.

MOSCOW, 23 December, 2020, (TON): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed legislation that will grant former presidents lifetime immunity once they leave office.

The bill, which was published online on Tuesday, gives former presidents and their families’ immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during their lifetime.

It also exempts them from being detained, questioned, arrested or subjected to searches.

The new law was part of a package of constitutional amendments approved by voters earlier this year that could allow Putin, 68, to remain in office until 2036. Putin has yet to say if he will seek re-election in 2024.

Prior to the bill becoming law, former presidents were immune from prosecution only for crimes committed while in office.

Among other things, the process involves the upper house of Parliament voting overwhelmingly to revoke it on the strength of accusations by the lower house that the president has committed treason or another serious crime.

The other laws signed by Putin allow presidents to name up to 30 senators to the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house, and to join the Council themselves once they have left office.

A former leader becomes a senator automatically from the moment he applies for the position.

The new law also allows a former head of state to appoint seven more lifetime senators. Such a possibility is reserved for Russians who have outstanding services to the country in the field of state and public activities.

On Tuesday, the Lower House State Duma also passed legislation making information about employees of Russia’s judicial system, law enforcement and regulatory and military bodies confidential.

The bill now requires Putin’s signature to become law, a step that is considered a formality.

NEW DELHI, 23 December, 2020, (TON): British telecom’s regulator Office of Communications (Ofcom) on Tuesday slapped a £20,000 fine on Worldview Media Network after its Indian channel Republic Bharat TV aired a programme which showed "hate speech" against Pakistanis.

Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.

In a detailed note on its decision, Ofcom said that Republic Bharat’s– the evening primetime show hosted by Arnab Goswami, had failed to comply with its broadcasting rules.

According to Ofcom, an episode, shown on 6 September, 2019, featured “comments made by the host and some of his guests that amounted to hate speech against Pakistani people, and derogatory and abusive treatment of Pakistani people. The content was also potentially offensive and was not sufficiently justified by the context.”

"Due to the serious nature of these breaches we are considering imposing a statutory sanction," Ofcom had said in the decision.

Ofcom said that the show had violated sections 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3 of the Broadcasters' Code by airing material that included "hate speech, abusive and derogatory treatment of individuals, groups, religions or communities and offensive content".

Following the penalty, the network told the regulator it was stopping the airing of live debates on relations between Pakistan and India and would ensure that content was reviewed before being broadcast along with taking other steps.

Worldview Media Network Limited, the licensee which airs Republic Bharat in the UK, will also need to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings and is barred from repeating the programme in the UK.

Prime time television in India has become a platform to peddle hatred against Pakistan. Hate-filled news programmes are not limited to a few channels or some anchors, hundreds of news channels follow the same format in India.

KABUL, 23 December 2020, (TON): President Ashraf Ghani and acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller discussed the Afghan peace process and the security situation in Afghanistan and in the region.

President Ashraf Ghani met with US acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on Tuesday afternoon, President Ashraf Ghani spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi said.

In Kabul, Milley met President Ghani and "Both sides expressed their concerns over the escalation of violence in Afghanistan and discussed the Afghan peace process and the immediate need for a ceasefire,” spokesperson said.

President Ghani and Miller meeting came as American troops are withdrawing to be withdrawn from Afghanistan after US President Donald Trump last month ordered the number of US forces to be approximately halved to 2,500 by 15 January 2021. 

ISLAMABAD, 23 December, 2020, (TON): Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday warned the Indian army that it would always get a befitting response to any “misadventure or aggression” from across the divide.

The statement by Gen Bajwa came during his visit to the army positions in unspecified snowbound forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), hours after a woman was killed and two other civilians, including a minor boy, were injured as a result of “unprovoked” ceasefire violations by the Indian army.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the COAS was briefed about the latest situation, particularly ceasefire violations by the Indian army deliberately targeting innocent civilians along the LoC, and the recent targeting of a United Nations vehicle by Indian troops against international norms and conventions.

“Indian provocations, particularly recent targeting of the UNMOGIP vehicles, are a threat to regional peace and stability,” observed the army chief on the occasion.

On Friday, Indian troops had deliberately fired upon a UN vehicle, carrying two military observers on a routine monitoring mission in AJK’s Poonch district, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier in the day, AJK officials said, Indian troops resorted to heavy shelling in Goi sector of Kotli district and adjacent areas of Poonch district at about 9am “without any provocation, using mortars and heavy weapons and targeting civilian populations”.

The shelling continued for many hours, resulted in death of a civilian and 2 critically injured. The shelling also caused material losses to the villagers in the affected areas.

The heavily militarised LoC has been constantly witnessing ceasefire violations by India, a serious breach of a truce agreement signed by the armies of India and Pakistan in November 2003.

The army chief vowed that Pakistan Army would take measures to protect innocent civilians along the LoC and defend honour, dignity and territorial integrity of the motherland at any cost.

In a statement, AJK President Masood Khan said that despite exercise of maximum restraint by the Pakistan Army, Indian forces had been continuing aggression along the LoC by targeting the civilian population, in their failed attempts to divert world attention from inside the occupied territory.