GENEVA, 09 June 2022, (TON): UN investigators said “Israel’s occupation and discrimination against Palestinians are the main causes of the endless cycles of violence.”

A high-level team of investigators, appointed last year by the United Nations Human Rights Council to probe all underlying root causes in the decades-long conflict, pointed the finger squarely at Israel.

They said in a report “ending the occupation of lands by Israel, remains essential in ending the persistent cycles of violence."

The 18-page report mainly focuses on evaluating a long line of past UN investigations, reports and rulings on the situation, and how and if those findings were implemented.

MELBOURNE, 09 June 2022, (TON): Australia insisted that its patrol plane was in international airspace when a Chinese warplane intercepted it and released a cloud of small aluminium strips, known as chaff.

Albanese told a news conference Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded curtly when asked about a spat between Canberra and Beijing over the May 26 incident, which Australia’s government has described as very dangerous.

Albanese told a news conference “this incident occurred in international airspace. Full stop.”

China’s defence ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said Tuesday that the Australian P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft came near the airspace of the disputed Paracel Islands known as Xisha in China.

Tan said “issued a warning to drive it away”.

He accused the Australian plane of threatening China’s sovereignty and security, and the government of spreading false information.

KABUL, 09 June 2022, (TON): A former Afghan minister, who fled as the Taliban took over Afghanistan last year, returned, following security assurances given as part of the hardline group’s initiative to woo back high-profile individuals.

Taliban officials said “Ghulam Farooq Wardak, a member of the cabinets of former presidents Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, is the latest in a string of returning officials.”

Wardak had returned from Turkey, said Ahmad Wasiq “the spokesman of a body set up by the Taliban to negotiate the return of high-profile Afghans abroad.”

Other officials to return included a former spokesman for the defence ministry, the former head of Afghanistan’s national power company, and some military officials.

While Reuters could not immediately verify the return of the others, Wardak spoke to state-run media after landing in Afghanistan.

DHAKA, 09 June 2022, (TON): State Minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam sought for Finland's support to Bangladesh's United Nations Security Council candidature.

A foreign ministry press release said “he made the urge while the Non-Resident Ambassador of Finland to Bangladesh Ritva Koukku-Ronde called on him at his office.”

In response, the Finnish Ambassador indicated to give due consideration to Bangladesh's bid for UNSC's membership.

During the meeting, both of them discussed ways to expand the relations in the areas of trade and investment, climate action, SDG, migration and mobility, education and research, renewable energy and digital cooperation.

DHAKA, 09 June 2022, (TON): Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal is likely to place a Taka 6,78,064 crore budget for the next fiscal year at Jatiya Sangsad tomorrow with the major challenge of reining inflation amid unfavourable global economic situation.

This will be the country's 51st budget and the 23rd of the Awami League government in five terms.

This would also be the 4th national budget in a row to be placed by Kamal.

The finance minister is going to place the budget at a time when the global economy is passing through a volatile situation mainly because of the slow economic recovery from the pandemic along with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

According to the Finance Division officials, the next budget for the FY23 aims to attain a GDP growth rate of 7.5 percent based on the positive trend of economic recovery from the pandemic while it also eyes to contain inflation at 5.6 percent.

DHAKA, 09 June 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said “a process is under way to mobilize an additional $1,000 million as budgetary support to tackle future emergency situation and economic crisis caused by Russia-Ukraine war.”

She made the statement in a written answer to a question from ruling party lawmaker M Mozaffar Hossain during PM’s question-answer session.

Hasina said “this budget support will be spent in the stimulus package for industries, factories, trading organizations, small and medium entrepreneurs and social safety net.”

She said “as part of the program to tackle the economic crisis due to pandemic, a process is underway to mobilize $500 million as budgetary support.”

The premier said “her government is making relentless efforts to attain the UN-declared Sustainable Development Goals with well-planned socio-economic development and creating jobs for the people.”

By Nasriya Naffin

Rohingya refugees who entered Bangladesh in 2017 from Rakhine state in Myanmar after a military crackdown has created an unbalanced pressure on Bangladesh’s limited resources. Over the years the Rohingya crisis has not only become a humanitarian calamity but a potential threat to Bangladesh's internal stability. 

According to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, “Bangladesh has been hosting 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. This humanitarian crisis poses a serious security threat.” The Prime Minister has also said that the security threat is not only to Bangladesh but to the entire region. She has urged the global community to assist them to resolve this matter soon.

However, all the attempts of safe return of these refugees back to Myanmar have not succeeded. Most of the Rohingya refugees were given temporary shelter in Ukhiya and Teknaf in Cox's Bazar, and considered it as the world’s largest refugee settlement. At present these camps have become overcrowded, and have created problems in maintaining infrastructure, distribution of health care facilities and other necessities to the refugees.

Living in congested camps with limited resources has caused frustration to some of the Rohingyas which has provoked them to do illegal activities to earn an extra income.  Human and drug trafficking, smuggling and even prostitution has created a social threat to the locals. Involving criminal activities has created violence and crimes.

Speaking at the NADI 3 Asian Confluence River Conclave 2022 recently, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, Bangladesh fears that such a situation may trigger extremism. Some of these refugees have left the camps and have started living in other residential areas. They have mixed with the local population making it difficult to keep a tab on them.  

Growing conflict between armed groups inside the camps has created clashes that have killed many residing in these camps and prompted fear among Bangladeshis.  

The growing population of Rohingya has also become a challenge to the Bangladesh economy as they demand for more jobs, food, and other essential facilities. The government needs to allocate more of its budget each year to fulfill these facilities. Even after the government limitations for these refugees' movement outside the camps local employers have paid more interest in hiring them due to the cheap labor. A large number of aid workers in the area has made a hike in commodity prices making it difficult for the locals to purchase these commodities. Government budget allocation for running these camps has never been enough.

As a result, the government of Bangladesh has started seeking aid from international communities yearly. Even the aid they receive has not been sufficient to provide them with the essentials, basic facilities, and the infrastructure facilities to the camps.  

This group of refugees has also become a political threat to the country. Involvement in illegal activities like smuggling, trafficking, and crimes has created instability in the country from time to time. Some are equipped with arms and there are many crimes reported near India-Bangladesh borders by them. Some predict that these gangs may have connections with world terrorist movements or they may soon get help from them making the situation worst.  

Rohingyas have become a threat to the local environment as well. To provide accommodation for this increasing population a considerable number of trees need to be cut down each year. The impact on the local environment, biodiversity and ecology has been detected. Cutting down trees for construction and firewood can make the hills fragile and lead to landslides. Declining forest cover has harmed the habitat of many wild animals. Over exploitation of natural resources like forest and water has increased the natural disasters in the country. Pollution in these areas and the decline in natural beauty has impacted the tourism industry as well.

The government of Bangladesh needs immediate action on relocating these refugees to a place with better facilities and alternative energy resources should be introduced to minimize environmental damage.  There is also a growing threat of human security within these refugees as well as locals living nearby. To minimize human insecurity these camps should be provided with more facilities like food and medicine. But it is not an easy task for the local government and this is where more aid is needed.  

According to the government of Bangladesh these refugees have become a threat to their foreign relations. Rohingyas have flown to other countries providing fake identities and some of them have gotten involved in crimes in those countries. This has created an unpleasant image to Bangladesh.  Their involvement in trafficking and smuggling has always added pressure to the countries' foreign relationship. 

However, Rohingya refugees, no matter where they come from, have a right to live. They too need to feel safe and have a sound education. Being stateless and deprived of having no citizenship in their own country, they have suffered for years living in these congested camps with limited resources. Therefore, the world leaders should pay more attention to them and take immediate actions to settle them in more comfortable areas for their well-being and Bangladesh.

By TON Research Desk

Recently, the Muslims around the globe highly protested against blasphemous remarks regarding the Holiest and Noble Person of humanity Hazart Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W). The Muslims throughout the world demanded the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal for committing such heinous crime which also shows the increasing menace of Blasphemy in India.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a belated action cracked down on two-party spokespersons and Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal expelled them from the party for their derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) which sparked outrage in the Islamic world.

Tensions are also running high in connections with mosque-temple rows such as the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid and the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid disputes.

The BJP’s statement, issued before firing the spokespersons that the party “respects all religions”, “condemns abuses of any religious personality”, and “opposes any ideology which insults any sect or religion”. As the communal clashes broke out in Kanpur last week in the wake of Sharma’s remarks, however, it could have been averted if she had been promptly brought to book.

Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal are not the only leaders in the country who make hate remarks, the list of such leaders is long but no action has been taken against them. Junior leaders take their cues from senior leaders. The BJP should adopt a clarified stance in a bid to not erupt because maintaining that “anything wrong must be nipped in the bud”.

On June 2, the RSS chief addressed a gathering of swayamsevaks in Nagpur in which he emphasized a Shivling in every mosque. The RSS chief statement has shown his “bigoted mindset” and is tantamount to exacerbating the “masjid-mandir” (mosque-temple) conflicts and communal strife.

As it is crystal clear, Islam was spread in India by Muslim Sufi saints through their messages of peace and harmony in their shrines without any force. If Muslims are targeted over these disputes, it would lead to a civil war and frustrate the country’s progress.

The BJP’s decision to take disciplinary action against Sharma and Jindal is a “right but a delayed decision. It says if the government had promptly acted against Sharma and the TV channel where she peddled hate then Kanpur clashes would not have occurred.

It is implicit that the BJP took the decision to expel its members from the party because of the reaction and outrage from the Gulf countries. India was fearful to see the boycott of Indian products in Arab countries as “super stores in Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar has announced to abandon and ban the Indian products.

The incumbent BJP government is following Israel’s Palestinian “targeting” the Muslim community in the country. India-Israel relations have got a major boost ever since the Modi-led government took over and the ruling party has been cleared following the prejudice of Israel’s bulldozer policy India against the Muslims.

The BJP authorities have demolished Muslim properties in several BJP-ruled states claiming they are “unlawful constructions”. In contrast, the incumbent Indian government is following the Israeli footsteps to demolish the Palestinian homes to pave the way for the Jewish settlements.

If such racial policies continue then the further dismemberment of India is imminent in the future as happened in the case of the former USSR. Now in this context, the government should take proper steps to crush the menace with an iron hand.

The Indian government should give exemplary punishments to those who committed the blasphemy against Hazart Mohammad (S.A.W) the most sacred and pious person of humanity, if it is really serious and want to finish the menace of Blasphemy in India.

WELLINGTON, 08 June 2022, (TON): The United States won a legal battle to seize a Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji and wasted no time in taking command of the $325 million vessel and sailing it away from the South Pacific nation.

The court ruling represented a significant victory for the US as it encounters obstacles in its attempts to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs around the world.

While those efforts are welcomed by many who oppose the war in Ukraine, some actions have tested the limits of American jurisdiction abroad.

In Fiji, the nation’s Supreme Court lifted a stay order which had prevented the US from seizing the superyacht Amadea.

Chief Justice Kamal Kumar ruled that based on the evidence, the chances of defense lawyers mounting an appeal that the top court would hear were “nil to very slim.”

RIYADH, 08 June 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia on Tuesday strongly condemned a terrorist attack that targeted a church in southwestern Nigeria, which killed and injured dozens of people.

22 people were killed and 58 others were injured when gunmen attacked a church during Sunday mass in Ondo State.

It said in a statement “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the Kingdom’s position refusing to target places of worship, intimidate the innocent and shed the blood of innocent lives.”

It also said “the Kingdom stands by Nigeria against all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism, adding it offered condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Nigeria, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.”