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Black Friday in India after farmer died in anti-government protests

Shasi Kumar
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Black Friday in India after farmer died in anti-government protests

Black Friday in India after farmer died in anti-government protests

New Delhi, INDIA (EFE) – Several peasant organizations have called for a “Black Friday” demonstration in India following the death of a farmer in anti-government protests earlier this week.

The protesting farmers, who have been demanding government guarantees for better crop prices for almost two weeks, said the pan-India was to express their grief over the death of a protester in clashes with police during their march that has been halted on its way to the Indian capital, New Delhi.

READ MORE : Farmer Protest in Delhi : Peasant march to New Delhi challenges India government’s farm policy

Peasant leader Rakesh Tikait told reporters that they “will observe ‘Black Friday’ to condole the death of a farmer at the Khanauri border crossing,” some 200 km from Delhi, in the northern state of Punjab.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a coalition of over 40 farmer unions, said, the day would be marked by burning effigies, torchlight processions, and protest demonstrations against police repression.

An SKM press statement urged the state government in Punjab to press charges “against the police for the murder,” and damages to several tractors at the protest site.

The Indian police have stopped the farmers marching from Punjab to the capital as they pressure the government for pro-agrarian measures and safeguards.

Their demand is the enactment of a law to guarantee a minimum support price policy to protect the price in the face of market fluctuations.

But since the farmers began marching on Feb. 13, Indian security forces have barricaded all entrance points to New Delhi and fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the protestors.

On Wednesday, Shubh Karan Singh, 23, was reportedly killed at the Khanauri border during clashes with the police, while three others were seriously wounded.

Singh “died in police firing” when the neighboring state of Haryana’s police “crossed the border illegally and shot at the protestors,” the SKM said.

The farmer unions have blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for conspiring with the state forces “to carry out severe repression on the protestors” and have demanded the resignation of the Haryana state chief minister.

Thousands of farmers on hundreds of tractors from Haryana and Punjab are marching to the capital to press home their demands, which include pensions for farmers, debt waivers, and the withdrawal of police cases filed against demonstrators during the 2021 protests.

India witnessed a massive farmer protest between 2020 and 2021, when thousands of farmers camped for almost 15 months outside Delhi, opposing an agrarian reform of the Indian government.

Modi had to bow to pressure and repeal a newly enacted law, which farmers said gave too much power to big companies by deregulating the market.

Two years later, farmers’ associations say the government has not met all their demands. EFE

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Iran begins first election campaign since the 2022 mass protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in custody

Ahmed Lamraoui
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Iran begins first election campaign since the 2022 mass protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in custody

Iran begins first election campaign since the 2022 mass protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in custody

Tehran, IRAN (AP) — Candidates for Iran’s parliament began campaigning Thursday in the country’s first election since the bloody crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

State television said 15,200 candidates will compete for a four-year term in the 290-seat chamber that hardliners have controlled for two decades.

READ MORE : Biden aide urges Bejing to press Iran over Houthi attacks. China warns US over Taiwan independence

That is a record number and more than twice the candidates who contested the 2020 election, when voter turnout was just over 42%, the lowest since 1979.

Amini died on Sept. 16, 2022, after her arrest by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict headscarf law that forced women to cover their hair and entire bodies. The protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s clerical rulers. In the severe crackdown that followed, over 500 people were killed and nearly 20,000 arrested, according to human rights activists in Iran.

On Wednesday, the Guardian Council election watchdog sent the names of the 15,200 qualified candidates to the interior ministry, which holds the election. Any candidate for elections in Iran must be approved by the Council, a 12-member clerical body, half of whom are directly appointed by the supreme leader.

The candidates include 1,713 women, which is more than double the 819 who competed in 2020.

People wlaks past an electoral posters of Hamid Abdolmaleki, a candidates for the March 1, parliamentary election, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday,Feb.22,2024. Photo : Vahid Salemi/AP

The election will be held March 1, and the new parliament will convene in late May.

Current parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf will run for election from his hometown, a constituency in the remote northeast, after winning a seat in the capital Tehran four years ago. Such a change in districts usually indicates shrinking popularity. In recent years, his fellow hardline critics occasionally accused him of ignoring the rights of other parliament members and disregarding reports of corruption while he was Tehran mayor.

Incumbent assembly member President Ebrahim Raisi will seek reelection to the assembly in a remote constituency in South Khorasan province, competing against a low-profile cleric.

In a simultaneous election, 144 clerics will compete for the all-cleric 88-seat Assembly of Experts that functions as an advisory body to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters. Their term of service is eight years.

Under Iran’s constitution, the assembly monitors the country’s supreme leader and chooses his successor. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be 85 in April. He has been supreme leader for 34 years.

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Farmer Protest in Delhi : Peasant march to New Delhi challenges India government’s farm policy

Diplomat Times
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Farmer Protest in Delhi : Peasant march to New Delhi challenges India government’s farm policy

Farmer Protest in Delhi : Peasant march to New Delhi challenges India government’s farm policy

New Delhi, INDIA (EFE/DT)- Thousands of Indian farmers were set to resume their march to New Delhi on Wednesday after failed talks with the government, while the authorities deployed strong security measures to prevent their entry into the capital.

The protest was scheduled to begin at 11am local time from the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab, where thousands have remained camped since last week awaiting the results of negotiations between the authorities and agricultural unions for legal guarantees for farm produce.

READ MORE : Indian Farmers Stage Resurgence in Protests Against Government Policies

“We are trying to carry out our protest peacefully. If the Center feels that there are issues in accepting our demands, we would like to appeal to the Prime Minister that protecting the Constitution is his duty,” one of the leaders of the farmers’ movement, Sarwan Singh Pandher, told the media early Wednesday.

Against the resumption of this mass procession, the authorities have again erected barricades and increased security at entry points to the capital to prevent the tractors and farmers’ trucks from entering.

“Our intention is not to create any chaos… This is not right that such huge barricades are placed to stop us. We want to go to Delhi peacefully. The government should remove the barricades and let us come in,” said another farmers’ leader, Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

The decision to resume the protest comes after talks between the government and the farmers’ leaders failed.

Farmers from the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, angry at recently enacted farm laws, have been trying to stage protests in the capital, New Delhi FIle: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

On Sunday, the government proposed to buy five products, including three pulses, maize, and cotton, from the farmers at a minimum support price (MSP), a government policy created to protect the price of crops in the face of market fluctuations, for the next five years.

However, the farmers have rejected the proposal as it does not fulfill their main demand for a legal guarantee of procurement of 23 crops at MSP.

The other demands include pensions for farmers, debt waivers, and withdrawal of police cases filed against farmers during the 2021 protests.

Last week, thousands of farmers on hundreds of tractors began a massive march towards New Delhi from the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab, the latter being known as the ‘breadbasket of India,’ to press home their demands.

The implementation of MSP was one of the main demands during protests between 2020 and 2021, when thousands of farmers camped for almost 15 months outside Delhi, opposing an agrarian reform initiated by the Indian government.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to bow to pressure and repeal a newly enacted law, which farmers said gave too much power to big companies by deregulating the market.

Two years on, farmers’ associations say the government has not met all their demands.

Yesterday, a 21-year-old farmer named Shubhkaran Singh passed away on Wednesday following protests near the Khanauri border, reigniting their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march due to disagreements with the Centre’s proposals regarding a five-year plan for minimum support price (MSP).

Despite four rounds of talks between farmer leaders and three Union ministers on February 8, 12, 16, and 18, the dialogue remained inconclusive as farmer leaders rejected the government’s proposal to break the deadlock.

According to H S Rekhi, the medical superintendent at Patiala-based Rajindra Hospital, the deceased had an injury to his head.

On Wednesday, several farmers sustained injuries as the Haryana Police fired tear gas shells to prevent attempts to breach barricades at Shambhu and Khanauri.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi expressed their condolences over the death of Shubhkaran Singh. Gandhi remarked that history would undoubtedly demand accountability for the farmers’ deaths from the BJP.

In the meantime, farmer leaders have decided to suspend the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march for two days following Shubkaran’s demise. The protest is scheduled to resume on Friday (23 February).

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Jaishankar meets Dutch Foreign Minister, hold talks on situation in West Asia

Shasi Kumar
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Jaishankar meets Dutch Foreign Minister, hold talks on situation in West Asia

Jaishankar meets Dutch Foreign Minister, hold talks on situation in West Asia

New Delhi, INDIA (ANI) – External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on his counterpart from the Netherlands, Hanke Bruins Slot, on Wednesday and held discussions on the situation in West Asia.

Very pleased to welcome FM @HankeBruinsSlot of Netherlands this afternoon, Jaishankar wrote on X.
The two leaders also held discussions on new-age technologies as well.

Discussed talking forward our collaboration as trusted partners in new age technologies. Also spoke of enhancing our water collaboration, the EAM wrote.

READ MORE : US Secretary Blinken and Russian FM Lavrov have arrived in Brazil to participate in the inaugural G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Exchanged views on situation in West Asia and agreed on the imperative of working together in the Indo-Pacific, “he added.

Meanwhile, the EAM also welcomed his counterpart from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Elmedin Dino Konakovic on his first visit to India.

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister, Dino Konakovic, left and his Indian counterpart S Jaishanakr, discussing about business collaboration on Wednesday, Feb. 21,2024. Photo : @DrSjaishankar

In a post on X, Jaishankar wrote, Glad to meet FM @Dinokonavic of Bosnia & Herzegovina on his first visit to India. “
“Discussed more agreements to add to the framework of our cooperation, Also encouraged greater business collaboration,” he added.

The foreign Minister of Nepal, Narayan Prakash Saud, and of Denmark, Lars lokke Rasmussen, also arrived in New Delhi to participate in the Raisina Dialogue 2024.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Ministers of Mauritius Maneesh Gobin, Tanzania’s January Makamba and Panama’s Janaina Tewaney Mencomo, also arrived in the national capital for the annual event.

The Foreign Minister of Hungary, Peter Szijiarto, and of Finland, too, arrived in India.

The ninth edition of Raisina Dialouge will conclude on February 23.

The event is organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a think tank.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the chief guest and keynote speaker at the ongoing 9th Raisina Dialouge.

Ministers, National Security Advisors senior officials and representatives of industry, technology, finance and other sectors from more than 100 nations are participating in the event this year.

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Pakistan political impasse nears end as two parties agree to form government

Qaseem Hassan
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Pakistan political impasse nears end as two parties agree to form government

Pakistan political impasse nears end as two parties agree to form government

Islamabad, PAKISTAN (EFE) – Two political parties agreed to a power sharing formula in Pakistan following the indecisive Feb. 8 polls that saw no single party securing a majority in parliament.

At a press conference in Islamabad held just before midnight, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari announced that his party had reached an agreement with three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to form a coalition government as they have the required seats in the National Assembly or lower house of the parliament.

READ MORE : Pakistan election left no clear winner. So who is likely to govern and what happens next?

“The numbers of Pakistan Peoples Party and Muslim League-Nawaz have been completed and God willing, we are going to form the government,” said Bhutto-Zardari, accompanied by Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz’s brother.

“It is hoped that God willing, Shehbaz Sharif will soon become the prime minister of the country once again,” he added.

Shehbaz thanked the PPP for its support for the formation of the government.

“We have unanimously decided that the name of Asif Ali Zardari (father of Bhutto-Zardari) will be presented for the President of the country,” he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif attends the meeting in narrow format of the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Heads of State Council (SCO-HSC) Summit, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 16 September 2022. EFE-EPA/SERGEI BOBYLEV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT

In response to a question, Shahbaz said that the PPP had not asked for any ministries, meaning it would not become part of the government but would support the PML-N candidate for the premiership.

“Political parties have differences but we have been able to establish a consensus,” he added.

No political party secured a simple majority in the rececntly held elections, forcing parties to join hands to come into power, but a lack of a consensus had resulted in a political impasse.

Both PPP and the PML-N had held several rounds of talks on a power-sharing formula over the past few days.

Independent candidates backed by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party secured the maximum seats (92).

To form a government, a party must win 133 out of the 265 contested seats in the 266-member lower house, which has 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for non-Muslims.

The election on one seat was not conducted.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has also agreed to support PML-N with their 17 seats.

The PTI has allied with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to ensure it gets the required numbers of reserved seats in the NA and provincial assemblies.

The party was banned from contesting the elections as a party by the country’s Supreme Court.

All the three parties, PML-N, PPP and MQM-P, have been in a coalition government for over 16 months after Khan was ousted from power in April 2022.

Although the agreement has ended the political impasse regarding the formation of the government, clouds still hover over the ongoing political stability as the PTI has announced that it would legally fight to get the seats it claims were stolen by vote-rigging.

Over the weekend, the party held nationwide protests against what it said was “the mother of all riggings” in the recent elections.

Following the 2013 elections, the Khan-led PTI held a continuous sit-in for 126 days in front of the parliament in Islamabad.

Khan, who is in jail facing at least three sentences, has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the country’s powerful military which has directly ruled the country for over three decades.

The military also has an oversized role in governmental affairs even when not in power.

The PTI has refused to share power with PML-N and the PPP calling them “stooges” of the military.

The PML-N bagged 75 seats in the National Assembly while the PPP managed to grab 54 seats, according to official results.

According to Pakistan’s constitution, a session of parliament has to be called by Feb. 29 after which a vote for the new prime minister will take place. EFE

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US Secretary Blinken and Russian FM Lavrov have arrived in Brazil to participate in the inaugural G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Diplomat Times
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US Secretary Blinken and Russian FM Lavrov have arrived in Brazil to participate in the inaugural G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

US Secretary Blinken and Russian FM Lavrov have arrived in Brazil to participate in the inaugural G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL (AFP/VOP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Brazil Tuesday for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers also due to be attended by Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, AFP has observed.

Blinken will also meet with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is in the midst of a diplomatic spat with Israel after the Brazilian president compared the country’s offensive in Gaza to the Nazi Holocaust — statements Washington has rejected.

READ MORE : Minister of State (MEA) Muraleedharan to represent India at G20 1st Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brazil

Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State of the United States, is currently in Brazil for discussions scheduled for Wednesday with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Additionally, Blinken will convene with his counterparts from the Group of 20 during his visit.

“If Lula imagined he was going to propose peace resolutions on Israel or Ukraine, that just got swept off the table,” international relations specialist Igor Lucena told AFP.

No joint statement from the G20 regarding Gaza or Ukraine

More than four months after the Gaza war started with Hamas fighters’ unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which has vowed to wipe out the Islamist group in retaliation, there is little sign of progress toward peace.

A new UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire was vetoed Tuesday by the United States, which said the text would endanger ongoing negotiations, including on the release of Hamas-held hostages.

The outlook is similarly downbeat on Russia’s war in Ukraine, which also has G20 members divided.

Despite a push from Western countries for the group to condemn President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, the G20’s last summit, held in New Delhi in September, ended with a watered-down statement that denounced the use of force but did not explicitly name Russia, which maintains friendly ties with fellow members like India and Brazil.

Underlining the G20 stalemate, the G7 group of top economies — Ukrainian allies Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — will hold its own virtual meeting on the war Saturday, the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has landed in Brazil to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Photo: MFA Russia
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has landed in Brazil to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Photo: MFA Russia

The G20, comprising 19 countries including the G7, the European Union and the African Union, represents about 85% of global GDP, 75% of global trade and two-thirds of the global population.

The G7 comprises the world’s richest and most powerful countries.

Last week, G7 foreign ministers expressed outrage over the detention death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny and pledged unwavering support to Ukraine as the two-year mark of Russia’s invasion approaches.

The G7 foreign ministers’ joint statement also advocated for “prolonged and durable pauses in the hostilities leading to a sustainable cease-fire” in Gaza while expressing “deep concern” over the “devastating” impact of Israel’s planned military operations in Rafah, where more than a million civilians are taking refuge.

Ramin Toloui, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, said the U.S. will underscore the damage caused by the “Kremlin’s war of aggression” and “encourage all G20 partners to redouble their calls for a just, peaceful and lasting end” to the war on Ukraine.

But Toloui said Brazil would not “attempt to mobilize a joint statement” during the upcoming G20 foreign ministers’ meetings.

The G20’s two-day event in Rio de Janeiro will commence tomorrow with the theme “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet.” During the event, foreign ministers of the G20 will convene two main forums to deliberate on the organization’s role in resolving international conflicts and reforming global governance.

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Minister of State (MEA) Muraleedharan to represent India at G20 1st Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brazil

Shasi Kumar
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Minister of State (MEA) Muraleedharan to represent India at G20 1st Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brazil

Minister of State (MEA) Muraleedharan to represent India at G20 1st Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brazil

New Delhi, INDIA (ANI/DT): The Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V Muraleedharan, is set to represent India at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) in Rio de Janeiro from February 21-22.

Notably, Brazil assumed the presidency from India on December 20, 2023, and the G20 Foreign Minister’s Meeting would be the first ministerial meeting under the Brazilian Presidency, the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official release.

The G20 Foreign Ministers have met as a group since 2012, and the FMM in Rio will be their 10th meeting.


Brazil assumed the G20 Presidency from India on 1 December 2023, and the G20 FMM would be the first Ministerial meeting under the Brazilian Presidency.

READ MORE : Brazil wants G20 to boost resources for environmental protection

The G20 FMM has risen in prominence throughout time, serving as a crucial venue for talks on a variety of international issues and related concerns of common concern among G20 members.

“India is currently a member of the G20 Troika together with Brazil and South Africa, and has conveyed its support to Brazil’s G20 priorities, under the theme ‘Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet’, viz., (i) social inclusion and fight against hunger and poverty; (ii) energy transitions and sustainable development; and (iii) global governance reforms. All working groups and mechanisms of India’s G20 Presidency are continuing under the Brazilian Presidency,” the MEA release added.

A new Working Group on Empowerment of Women and a new Engagement Group, “Judiciary 20” have also been added by Brazil this time.

During his visit, MoS Shri V. Muraleedharan will participate in both FMM sessions, first on “G20’s role in dealing with ongoing international tensions”, and second on “Global governance reform”.

He will also attend the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 22 February 2024. On the sidelines of the FMM, he will hold bilateral meetings with partner countries from the Global South..

The minister will also attend the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on February 22, 2024.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the G20 FMM, the MoS will hold bilateral meetings with partner countries from the Global South.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has landed in Brazil to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Photo: MFA Russia


Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Brazil to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, showcasing Russia’s involvement as one of the G20 member countries.

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why Japan is hosting a conference for Ukraine reconstruction amid ongoing conflict

Kyung An
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why Japan is hosting a conference for Ukraine reconstruction amid ongoing conflict

why Japan is hosting a conference for Ukraine reconstruction amid ongoing conflict

Tokyo, JAPAN (AP) — Japan is hosting a conference for Japanese and Ukrainian officials to discuss reconstruction of Ukraine just ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, while the U.S. and other Western countries are still focusing on military aid for the battlefield.

Hundreds of senior officials and executives are attending the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction in Tokyo. AP explains the event, its purpose, who’s attending and the projects being discussed.

WHO’S ATTENDING?

The conference is co-organized by the Japanese and Ukrainian governments, Japan’s powerful business organization Keidanren, and the Japan External Trade Organization, or JETRO.

READ MORE : Japan Extends $10 Million Grant Aid to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya in Horn of Africa

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is heading his country’s delegation of more than 100 government and corporate officials. First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Minister Ruslan Strilets also were to attend.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is leading Japan’s side, joined by Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Keidanren chair Masakazu Tokura, among many others. About 100 officials from Japanese companies, the majority of them startups but from also leading companies like Kawasaki Heavy Industry, farming equipment makers Yanmar Holdings and Kubota Co., and telecoms company Rakuten Symphony also are attending.

What is the reason for this timing?

Japan hopes the conference will help build support for Ukraine as the war drags on after two years, at a time when attention has been diverted to the situation in Gaza. Officials in Tokyo say the global community should unite in supporting Ukraine to show that using force against other countries will not be tolerated.

WHY IS JAPAN DOING THIS?

The conference is largely about reconstruction and investment in Ukraine that could put Japan ahead of the curve. It’s also about Japan’s national security. Kishida has repeatedly said “Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow.” Japan has staunchly opposed Russia’s invasion, viewing it as a one-sided change of the “status-quo” by force. It is concerned about China’s increasingly assertive military actions in the region.

Japan has earned a strong reputation for economic and development cooperation under its post-World War II pacifist policy that commits it to never using force against other nations. Tokyo has eased that restraint to build up a military deterrence against China, but its support for Ukraine has largely been for humanitarian assistance. It has limited its supplies of military equipment to non-lethal weapons.

Japan’s $12.1 billion contribution to Ukraine over the past two years is much smaller than the $111 billion that the United States and other Western nations have provided in weapons, equipment and humanitarian assistance.

The government hopes to facilitate private sector investment while minimizing risks of business operations in Ukraine.

Having risen from the ashes of devastation from World War II and from the damage caused by major earthquakes and other disasters, Japan believes it has a special role to play in aiding Ukraine’s rebuilding.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DEALS SIGNED?

Ukrain’s Shmyhal expressed high expectations for Japanese companies’ expertise in technology and Japan’s experience in postwar and disaster reconstruction. Ukraine’s reconstruction also will mean future investment and business opportunities for the startups, who were the majority of companies attending the conference.

The Japanese government has chosen seven target areas — including removal of mines and debris; improvement of humanitarian and living conditions; farming; biochemical manufacturing; digital and information industries; infrastructure for power generation and transportation and anti-corruption measures.

In all, 56 cooperation deals between Japanese and Ukrainian government agencies and companies were announced, and Kishida unveiled a plan to open a JETRO office in Kyiv.

A Tokyo-based bridge-builder, Komaihaltec, is to jointly develop small wind power generation facilities with Ukraine’s state gas operator. Sumitomo Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries agreed on a joint study with the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine on modernizing gas compressor stations. Rakuten Symphony and Ukrainian telecom Kyivstar plan to jointly rebuild digital infrastructure. One Japanese startup has developed radar-mounted landmine removal equipment and another helps optimize farming by analyzing soil components using satellite imagery.

WHAT’S IN THE JOINT COMMUNIQUE?

In the joint communique, Japan and Ukraine reaffirmed that sanctions against Russia are a “crucial and effective measure” to deter Russia’s military activities. They also confirmed their determination to prevent circumvention of sanctions.

Japan expressed its continued support of all phases of Ukraine’s reconstruction, from its initial emergency recovery to economic reconstruction and industrial development.

The two countries signed a tax convention and are to begin reviewing an investment treaty. Japan also announced the easing of visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens.

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Dubai International Airport had 86.9 million passengers last year in a post-pandemic surge

Ahmed Lamraoui
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Dubai International Airport had 86.9 million passengers last year in a post-pandemic surge

Dubai International Airport had 86.9 million passengers last year in a post-pandemic surge

Dubai, UAE (AP) — The number of passengers flying through Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, surged last year beyond its total for 2019 — just before the coronavirus pandemic grounded global aviation.

While still shy of its all-time high in 2018, the figures for 2023 showed just how far the airport known as DXB has bounced back from the pandemic. The number of passengers passing through its cavernous, air-conditioned terminals, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates in Dubai, long has served as a barometer for the aviation industry worldwide and the wider economic health of this city-state.

READ MORE : Tourists in France could be fined for smoking in public: Where else has strict laws on lighting up?

Overall in 2023, the airport had 86.9 million passengers. The airport’s 2019’s annual traffic was 86.3 million passengers. The airport had 89.1 million passengers in 2018 — its busiest-ever year before the pandemic, while 66 million passengers passed through in 2022.

Paul Griffiths, the CEO of Dubai Airports, made the announcement Monday on state-owned radio station Dubai Eye.

Passenger traffic largely has been driven by the airport’s standard travel destinations — India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Russia has also been a major market as Dubai remains one of the few places still open to Russians during Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Dubai was among the first cities to reopen to tourists in the pandemic. That helped boost the city-state’s tourism industry, as attractions like the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and the sail-shaped Burj Al-Arab luxury hotel drew both visitors and transit passengers out of airport lounges.

Earlier in February, Dubai announced its best-ever tourism numbers, saying it hosted 17.15 million international overnight visitors in 2023. Average hotel occupancy stood around 77%. Meanwhile, its boom-and-bust real estate market remains on a hot streak, nearing all-time high valuations.

The airport has estimated it will serve 88.8 million passengers this year — nearing its all-time high. But that will put increasing pressure on the already-stretched airport, which had its highest-ever number of aircraft takeoffs and landings in a single year — 416,405.

Dubai has a second airport, Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) away in its far southern reaches. While used by commercial airlines when Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the second airport that opened in 2010 largely sees cargo and private aircraft flights. Plans to put Emirates and other major carriers there have been repeatedly pushed off.

Dubai International Airport connects to 262 destinations in 104 countries worldwide via just over 100 international carriers.

BY JON GAMBRELL

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Two lost their lives in a stampede as hundreds lined up for Thailand visas in Myanmar

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Two lost their lives in a stampede as hundreds lined up for Thailand visas in Myanmar

Two lost their lives in a stampede as hundreds lined up for Thailand visas in Myanmar

Yangon, MYANMAR (AFP/ABC) — Two people were killed in a crush outside a passport office in Myanmar on Monday, a rescue worker said, as thousands rush to leave the country to escape a junta military service law.

Two women aged 52 and 39 died early Monday after hundreds of people surged to get in line at the passport office in second city Mandalay, a rescue worker who arrived at the scene told AFP.

READ MORE : At least 64 killed in Papua New Guinea ambush

“There was a ditch near the crowd. They fell into the ditch and died from a lack of oxygen,” the rescue officer said, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

The queues resembled a rush to buy tickets for a football match or concert, but those lining up for hours simply wanted to leave the country as soon as possible.

After last week’s announcement of compulsory military service for Myanmar youngsters, the Thai embassy in Yangon was flooded with requests for tourist visas.

They were hoping to travel over the border before the chance of being conscripted as they weighed up their options in Thai cities like Bangkok or Chiang Mai.

“I will go to Bangkok with a tourist visa and hope to stay there for a while,” 20-year-old Aung Phyo told AFP.

“I haven’t decided yet to work or study. I just wanted to escape from this country.”

Aung, a student, said he arrived at the embassy at 8pm and slept in his car before starting to queue about midnight ahead of its opening at 9am the following day.
“We had to wait for three hours and police opened the security gate around 3am and we had to run to the front of the embassy to try to get places for a token,” Aung said, using a pseudonym because of fears for his safety.
“After we got a token, people who didn’t get one were still queuing in front of the embassy, hoping they might give out extras.”
Many young Myanmar people have opposed the ruling military government.(ABC News: Phone Myint Min)

Last Friday, a queue of between 1,000 and 2,000 people snaked through the streets of Yangon towards the embassy, compared with fewer than 100 before last week’s announcement.

Myanmar authorities said they would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve in the military for at least two years, as it struggles to quell opposition to its 2021 coup.

The junta has said it is taking measures to arm pro-military militias as it battles opponents across the country — both anti-coup “People’s Defence Forces” and more long-standing armed groups belonging to ethnic minorities.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the military service system was needed “because of the situation happening in our country”.

More than 4,500 people have been killed in the military’s crackdown on dissent since its February 2021 coup and over 26,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

The conscription law, which is due to begin in April, was first introduced in 2010 but had not been enforced until the recent announcement by Myanmar’s junta.

Burmese army general Min Aung Hlaing has ruled Myanmar for the past three years and became prime minister in August 2021.  (AP: Aung Shine Oo)

It comes after the junta lost control of swathes of territory along a frontline that stretches from the highlands bordering China to the coastline near Bangladesh, some of it in a coordinated offensive by rebel groups that started in October, dubbed Operation 1027.

“The military is clearly facing significant manpower shortages, which is why it is introducing a draft for the first time in its history,” said Richard Horsey, the Crisis Group’s senior Myanmar adviser.

Ye Myo Hein, senior advisor to the United States Institute of Peace think-tank, assessed most military battalions are struggling to meet even half the recommended troop strength of 200 soldiers.

“There has been a notable decline in the number of officer enlistments as well,” he said.

“Additionally, the loss of officers, including brigadier generals … have been significantly higher due to shrinking battalion sizes and decreasing rank-and-file soldiers.”

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