International
Police arrest protesters at Columbia University, clear occupied building
New York, May 1 (IANS) Police stormed Ivy League Columbia University, the ground zero of nationwide pro-Palestine protests, breaking up the occupation of a building by agitators and arresting scores of them.
University officials, who were under fire for inaction on the agitation, asked the police Tuesday night to clear protesters who took over the administration building after breaking windows to enter it and reinforcing the entrances with furniture and equipment to keep officials out.
The action came as the agitation in support of Palestine veered off into communalism with attacks on and threats to Jewish students based on their religion, with one of the leaders found to have called for “death to Zionists”.
Before the police action, New York Mayor Eric Adams said that “professional agitators”, who were not students, had infiltrated the protests and were behind the occupation.
Police released videos of people at the university who they said were the “outside agitators” clad in black who had been seen at other agitations in the past creating conditions for clashes with police.
CBS New York TV reported that according to city officials, the wife of a known terrorist was at the protests. (Other media identified the man as Sami Al-Arian who was charged with supporting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and deported from the US.)
Riot police used special equipment with a ramp to dramatically climb in through windows on a higher floor of the building and used flash grenades, devices that set off spurts of bright lights and explosive sounds but without shrapnels, to stun the agitators.
Police also arrested students who had set up a tent encampment in the university quadrangle and had been ordered by the university to clear out.
Police clashed with students at the campus of local government-run City College, where agitators threw firecrackers, and arrested several people.
The pro-Palestine protests that started at Columbia, where students set up tent encampments, have spread like wildfire to scores of campuses across the country.
The students are demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to US support for Israel, universities cut off ties to Israel, and dump investments in companies making weapons or have ties to that nation.
Several hundred students and faculty have been arrested during the protests coast to coast, with some of the confrontations turning violent.
Many universities have switched to remote learning, and in some cases locking out students from campuses, adversely affecting them as these are the final weeks of the academic year.
Republicans, led by Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, have demanded stern action by the eaderships of universities against the protestors and called for deploying the National Guard.
Johnson visited Columbia last week and demanded the resignation of its president – Nemat Minouche Shafik who took over the job last year after having led the London School of Economics.
Two weeks ago, she called in the police to oust the tent encampment, but within a day, the protesters returned.
Criticised by the faculty association for the action, she tried to hold discussions with the students for a peaceful end to the protests.
But it failed and a deadline was given for them to shut down the encampment by Monday afternoon, after which the agitators took over the administration building escalating the confrontation.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
–IANS
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International
Labour govt will reconnect Britain, promises new UK Foreign Secretary
London, July 6 (IANS) Asserting that “diplomacy matters”, Britain’s new Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Saturday that the new Labour government will begin with a “reset” with Europe on climate and with the global South.
Outlining his priorities following his appointment, Lammy highlighted that the world is currently facing “huge challenges” with more countries engaged in conflict than at any time since World War II.
“This government will reconnect Britain for our security and prosperity at home. What happens here in the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office is essential.
“Diplomacy matters. We will begin with a reset with Europe, on climate, and with the global South. And a gear-shift when it comes to delivering on European security, global security, and British growth,” Lammy said in a statement released by the UK Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
The 51-year-old Labour Party politician promised that the new government is determined to deliver for working people and committed to building a better future for everyone.
“It is the honour of my life to stand before you as Foreign Secretary. A descendant of enslaved people. A black, working-class, man from Tottenham. A community which never produced a Foreign Secretary before. This speaks to what a modern, multicultural Britain can be. Proudly internationalist,” he said.
Lammy also mentioned that Britain has “enormous potential” and that the change has begun now – a slogan with which the Keir Starmer-led party fought the general elections.
–IANS
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International
Pak's macroeconomic environment was challenging in 2023: Central bank
Islamabad, July 6 (IANS) Pakistan’s macroeconomic environment in the calendar year 2023 remained challenging amid rising inflation, weak foreign exchange inflows, pressures on external account and local currency, and low business confidence, particularly in the first half, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said.
However, the policy measures and regulatory interventions that were taken to address growing imbalances coupled with securing a nine-month stand-by agreement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) helped improve the macroeconomic conditions in the second half of 2023, the SBP said in its financial stability review for 2023, Xinhua news agency reported.
Inflation started falling, economic growth recovered, and the exchange rate stabilised towards the year-end, the central bank said in the report.
Against this backdrop, the financial sector exhibited strong growth and performance, and maintained financial soundness and operational resilience, it added.
The asset base of the financial sector expanded by 27 per cent in 2023, mainly driven by the banking sector, according to the report.
–IANS
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International
Flood alert for Pakistan provinces as monsoon season begins
Islamabad, July 6 (IANS) Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a warning about the potential for flash floods and urban flooding due to the ongoing torrential rain, marking the beginning of the monsoon season in various parts of the country.
The National Emergency Operation Centre of the NDMA anticipates that the ongoing rain may cause flash floods in local streams of Islamabad, parts of east Punjab, and northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the authority said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
The torrential rain may also cause urban flooding in several districts of the two provinces, including their densely populated capital cities, the statement added.
The NDMA also advised provincial disaster management authorities and local administrations to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate measures to safeguard the at-risk population, the statement read.
The NDMA also urged citizens to download its mobile application for disaster alerts, which provides notifications, guidelines, and precautionary measures to address urban flooding in their areas so they can stay alert and informed.
–IANS
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International
Record 26 Indian-origin MPs set to enter UK Parliament
New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) A record number of 26 Indian-origin MPs are set to enter the UK Parliament after Friday’s General Election results, marking a significant increase from 15, five years ago.
Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak, the first Indian-origin person to have served as the UK Prime Minister, leads the pack after having secured victory from Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire.
Apart from Sunak, 25 other Indian-origin MPs — including 20 from the Labour Party and five Conservatives — also emerged victorious on Friday.
Priti Patel, Conservative MP of Gujarati descent, won from Witham, Essex. Patel, who has served in various capacities, including Secretary of State for International Development, has been representing the constituency since 2010.
Gagan Mohindra, a prominent politician from a Punjabi Hindu background, secured his seat in South West Hertfordshire. Mohindra has been a Conservative MP since 2019, following his initial election as a Parish Councillor in 2004.
Labour Party leader Seema Malhotra retained her Feltham and Heston constituency for a fourth term since 2011. Malhotra has held several shadow ministerial roles, including Shadow Minister for Skills and Further Education.
Valerie Vaz, Labour leader of Goan origin, won the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency for the fifth time. Vaz, who has been an MP since 2010, has served as the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.
Lisa Nandy retained her seat in Wigan, making her the constituency’s first female MP and one of the first Asian female MPs since 2010. She has served as the Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development.
Nadia Whittome, who made history in 2019 as the UK’s youngest MP at the age of 23, was re-elected from Nottingham East.
Preet Kaur Gill, the UK’s first female Sikh MP, defeated Conservative Ashvir Sangha in Birmingham, a seat she has held since 2017. Gill has served as the Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health.
Labour Party’s Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi retained his Slough constituency, although with a reduced victory margin.
Conservative leader Shivani Raja won the Leicester East constituency, where she was fielded against another Indian-origin Labour candidate, Rajesh Agrawal.
44-year-old Conservative MP Suella Braverman, who was embroiled in controversies and dismissed by the party for her statements, won from the Fareham and Waterlooville constituency for the fourth consecutive time.
Additionally, other Indian-origin Labour MPs to be elected to the UK’s House of Parliament include Navendu Mishra, Jas Athwal, Baggy Shanker, Satvir Kaur, Harpreet Uppal, Warinder Juss, Gurinder Josan, Kanishka Narayan, Sonia Kumar, Sureena Brackenbridge, Kirith Entwistle, Jeevun Sandher, Sojan Joseph and Murina Wilson.
–IANS
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International
Japan hopes Iran's new President will play 'constructive role' in stabilising situation in Middle East
Tokyo, July 6 (IANS) The Japanese government on Saturday hoped that Iran, under its newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, will play a “constructive role” in easing tensions and stabilising the situation in the Middle East.
Pezeshkian emerged winner in the runoff of the presidential election held on Friday and was elected as the next President of the country.
“We hope that Iran, under President-elect Pezechkian, will play a constructive role in easing tensions and stabilizing the situation in the Middle East,” said the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
“Based on our traditionally friendly relations with Iran, Japan will continue to make proactive diplomatic efforts toward easing tensions and stabilising the situation in the Middle East, and will also strengthen dialogue with the new Iranian government under President-elect Pezechkian,” it added.
In April, Tokyo had “strongly condemned” the escalation in the region following Iran’s attacks against Israel using drones and missiles citing that the peace and stability of the Middle East region remains of paramount importance to Japan.
–IANS
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