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.

CANBERRA, 23 December, 2020, (TON): Australia’s trade surplus for goods fell to a two-year low in November hit by a slump in exports to top trading partner China, which imposed a number of restrictions in an escalating trade dispute.

Preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed goods trade surplus slipped to A$1.9 billion ($1.43 billion) in November from A$4.7 billion in October.

This is the first time since November 2018 that the goods trade surplus has dropped below the A$2 billion mark.

The drop was led by a A$1.2 billion, or 10%, decrease in exports to China combined with an A$889 million, or 11%, increase in imports from the Asian heavyweight, the ABS said.

China has put a stop on Australian coal while imposing hefty tariffs on a range of farm products including barley, beef, lobsters and wine, angered by Australia’s calls for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus

Preliminary trade data does not include services. The ABS will release the final trade estimate for November on 7 January.

Tensions between China Australia have risen dramatically as China continues to impose trade restrictions on Australian-sourced imports. Some of the major restrictions include an 80% tariff on Australian barley exports, which was then followed by a ban on Australia’s biggest grain exporter, and the suspension of beef imports from five major meat-processing plants.

ADDIS ABABA, 23 December, 2020, (TON): The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 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.

This 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.

More than 52,000 refugees have fled Tigray into eastern Sudan over the past six weeks. Despite the number of new arrivals dropping more recently to some 500 a day, aid agencies are dealing with a full-scale humanitarian emergency in a very remote area that has not seen such a large refugee influx in decades, according to the UN refugee agency.

The regional refugee preparedness and response plan covered the period from November 2020, when the situation in Tigray escalated after months of growing political tensions, through to June 2021, and aimed to reach up to 115,000 refugees and 22,000 people from host communities.

It further includes support for the governments of Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea in maintaining and facilitating access to asylum and providing life-saving assistance to those who have been forced to flee.

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.