GENEVA, 08 July 2021 (TON): Thomas Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said that no state had imposed any sanctions on its oil and gas sector, although some had slapped them on military-controlled enterprises and revenue from gems, timber and mining.

A United Nations human rights investigator called on countries to impose economic sanctions on Myanmar's oil and gas sector to cripple the junta that took power five months ago.

Myanmar has been in crisis since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government on Feb. 1, unleashing nationwide anger that quickly turned into protests and strikes brutally suppressed by security forces, with nearly 900 killed.

Thomas Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said that no state had imposed any sanctions on its oil and gas sector, although some had slapped them on military-controlled enterprises and revenue from gems, timber and mining.

He told the Human Rights Council "oil- and gas-sector revenues are a financial lifeline for the junta and are estimated to be close to what is needed for the junta to maintain the security forces that are keeping them in power. They should be stopped."

ISLAMABAD, 08 July 2021 (TON): President Dr Arif Alvi said that India was supporting militancy and terrorism in Afghanistan and using the neighbouring country's soil for hybrid warfare in Pakistan.

A statement issued by the President's Secretariat quoted Alvi as saying that terrorist activities in the country, including the recent blast in Lahore's Johar Town, the attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange last year and the network operated by Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, were carried out with Indian support to destabilise Pakistan.

The president said while addressing participants of the 7th National Workshop on Balochistan "India is hatching conspiracies against Pakistan to destabilise it by funding militant organisations to carry out terrorist activities."

He added that India would "not succeed in [its] evil designs" because Pakistan's armed forces were fully capable of overcoming security challenges, especially the fifth-generation war.”

Talking about Balochistan, he said the government was seriously focusing on the social and economic uplift of the province. The Gwadar port, along with projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), would improve the lives of the people of Balochistan.

The president highlighted the enormous opportunities that would be brought to Balochistan as a result of CPEC when other regional countries, particularly Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, would use CPEC for their own exports and conduct their trade through the Gwadar port.

WASHINGTON, 08 July 2021 (TON): A State Department spokesman said that the United States’ top envoy for North Korea spoke with his Chinese counterpart, after Pyongyang’s repeated rejection of the Biden administration’s attempts to establish dialogue.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “earlier its special representative on the Korean Peninsula, Liu Xiaoming, spoke by phone with U.S. special representative Sung Kim and that the two “agreed to keep contact.”

Kim visited South Korea last month to try to break an impasse in denuclearization talks with the North, which has not responded to Washington’s attempts at contact since President Joe Biden took office in January.

Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, held three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but failed to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons.

State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed the call but declined to detail what was discussed.

Washington would work with allies South Korea and Japan on North Korea, and China has a role to play as well and obviously has influence with the regime,” Price said.

MALE, 08 July 2021 (TON): The Parliament of Maldives has approved a resolution to officially declare a stand on the matter of Palestine within the international community.

This resolution was proposed by the MP for Villingili Constituency Saud Hussain.

The resolution calls on the international community to take a stand and encourage to call for the end of Israeli occupation and annexation of Palestinian land and to denounce the continued inhuman aggression of Israel and call the international community to accept Palestine as an independent sovereign state.

The resolution was passed by the votes of 44 members. 33 votes were needed to pass the resolution. No member voted against passing the resolution.

While the Parliament has decided to officially declare their stand on the matter of Palestine, Maldives have shown solidarity with Palestine on many previous occasions and have condemned Israeli systematic violation of the human rights of Palestinians.

COLOMBO, 08 July 2021 (TON): The United States has maintained a warning of the threat of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka.  In an updated travel advise, Americans have been told to reconsider travel to Sri Lanka because of the threat of terrorism.

 The US State Department said that that terrorists may attack with little or no warning in Sri Lanka, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls and government facilities.

It also says hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, hospitals, and other public areas are also at risk.

The US State Department issued the updated travel advise.

 Following an earlier update in May when the terror warning was maintained, the US Embassy in Sri Lanka had clarified that the travel advisory issued at the time had been solely due to the terrorist threat level was maintained as earlier and not changed.

DUBAI, 08 July 2021 (TON): A container ship anchored at one of the world’s largest ports in Dubai caught fire, local authorities said, after an explosion shook the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates.

The blaze sent up giant orange flames on a vessel at the crucial Jebel Ali Port, the busiest in the Middle East, which sits on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, but authorities said the situation is under control.

A fire caused by an explosion within a container on board a ship at Jebel Ali Port has been brought under control; no casualties have been reported.

The combustion unleashed a shock wave through the city, shaking buildings and windows in neighbourhoods as far as 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the port.

At least three residents in the area of the blast, the cause of which remains unknown, reported windows and doors in their homes were shaken as a result of the incident.

There were no immediate reports of casualties at the port, which is also the busiest port of call for American warships outside of the US.

MUZAFFARABAD, 08 July 2021 (TON): The Jammu Kashmir National Front (JKNF) paid eulogizing tributes to prominent freedom fighter Shaheed Burhan Muzaffar Wani, on his 5th martyrdom anniversary.

In a statement, the JKNF spokesperson Shafiq-ur-Rehman highlighted the martyred commander's supreme sacrifices and peerless contribution towards the ongoing freedom struggle.

He said "Shaheed Burhan would be remembered in the history of Kashmir as a symbol of resistance against Indian occupation. The way he (Burhan) imbibed new spirit and gave a new direction to the movement is a proud legacy that would continue to inspire our coming generations.”

The spokesman added that we owe a debt gratitude to the martyrs who sacrificed their precious lives for the noble cause and brought Kashmir issue at the center stage internationally.

The spokesman also praised the Wani family's contribution to the liberation struggle, saying that Burhan's elder brother had also laid down his life for the cause while fighting against the occupation forces.

MUZAFFARABAD, 08 July 2021 (TON): While describing Shaheed Burhan Wani as a role model for the freedom fighters across the globe, AJK President, Sardar Masood Khan said that his valiant struggle for the liberation of Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the martyrdom will continue to be a source of inspiration for the young minds.

In a special message on the fifth martyrdom anniversary of Kashmir’s most beloved freedom fighter, AJK President said “Shaheed Wani would always be remembered on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) for his courageous struggle against the illegal Indian rule and the supreme sacrifice of his life for the noble cause of freedom and liberty.”

Wani, a resident of Tral and commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen was martyred along with two associates by the Indian troops in a fake encounter in the Kokernag area on July 8 in 2016. His martyrdom had triggered a sustained wave of protests that claimed the lives of at least 100 civilians.

The AJK President, while paying tributes to Shaheed Wani said that that the history of Kashmiris’ struggle will remain incomplete without the chapter of Burhan Wani because he is a hero and a glittering star of the liberation struggle, which has been continuing for the last seven decades.

The state president said that the Shaheed Burhan Wani at his young age had devoted himself to the Kashmir liberation movement and had carried forward the liberation struggle with his valor, wisdom, and vision in a way that he had become the role model for the liberation movements across the world.

NEW DELHI, 08 July 2021 (TON): Twelve Indian government ministers resigned Wednesday, hours ahead of an expected reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet aimed at refurbishing its image after widespread criticism of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, whose response to the epidemic came under close examination, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar were among those who resigned.

President Ram Nath Kovind's office said he accepted their resignations as advised by the prime minister. The Press Trust of India said 43 Cabinet ministers and junior ministers were expected to be sworn at a ceremony in the presidential palace.

Modi's government is facing increasing criticism for its handling of the pandemic. It is the first Cabinet reshuffle since he was returned to power for a second term in 2019.

KABUL, 08 July 2021 (TON): Afghan military officials said that the U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left.

The U.S. announced it had completely vacated its biggest airfield in the country in advance of a final withdrawal the Pentagon says will be completed by the end of August.

Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander said “we (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram.”

U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett did not address the specific complaints of many Afghan soldiers who inherited the abandoned airfield, instead referring to a statement last week.

The statement said “the handover of the many bases had been in the process soon after President Joe Biden’s mid-April announcement that America was withdrawing the last of its forces. Leggett said in the statement that they had coordinated their departures with Afghanistan’s leaders.

According to Afghan military officials “before the Afghan army could take control of the airfield about an hour’s drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, it was invaded by a small army of looters, who ransacked barrack after barrack and rummaged through giant storage tents before being evicted.