SI! AMERICA IS BILINGUAL

US, Mexico pledge half a billion dollars to fight cross-border pollution from Tijuana River sewage

2022/8/20 15:40 (EDT)
© The San Diego Union-Tribune

In this file photo, contaminated water signs are posted along the southern part of the beach in Imperial Beach, California. - Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

SAN DIEGO — A nearly half-billion-dollar investment in new sewage treatment facilities in Tijuana could clean up perpetually polluted beaches in San Diego, U.S. and Mexican officials say.

Officials from both countries signed a treaty through the International Boundary and Water Commission that commits to funding new sanitation projects during a ceremony at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in Imperial Beach on Thursday.

The agreement pledges about $350 million in U.S. spending and $144 million from the Mexican government to replace failing sewage treatment facilities in Tijuana.

The combined funding would build a treatment plant by 2027 that would halve the number of days when wastewater flows north from Mexico to Imperial Beach and other coastal San Diego communities and would reduce untreated wastewater discharged to the Pacific Ocean by 80 percent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Cross-border pollution has plagued the Tijuana and southern San Diego region for decades, causing illnesses such as diarrhea and respiratory disease as well as environmental damage.

The problem has worsened over the past five years as aging sewage treatment facilities have deteriorated further, leaking raw sewage into the Pacific, said Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif.

"Because their infrastructure is really decrepit and has not been maintained, the treatment plant is falling apart, so sewage is falling into the water — not through a pipe with partial treatment, but without any treatment," Peters said.

Recent health studies have found that viral contaminants in the water may be higher than previously thought. Compounding the problem is the fact that the treatment plant's capacity has declined as the amount of sewage generated by Tijuana has grown.

"They have a double problem — growing population and failing infrastructure," Peters said.

The agreement, called Minute No. 328, calls for doubling the capacity of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in the U.S. and building a new treatment plant in Tijuana.

The combined projects would boost sewage treatment capacity by 43 million gallons per day, according to the EPA. They would also repair or replace deteriorating sewer lines and pump stations in Tijuana to prevent sewage spills.

The U.S. funding for those projects includes $300 million that was authorized as part of the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. That money was tied up because of legal restrictions, but last month Reps. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Juan Vargas, D-Calif., introduced a legislative fix to allow the EPA to transfer the funds to the International Boundary and Water Commission for wastewater treatment.

An additional $50 million was authorized under last year's federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Peters said.

Mexico recently made a binding commitment to invest $144 million in the project, officials said.

"It's not just a statement of intent, but it's the next level of commitment," Peters said. "This will be enforced as a treaty."

Although the new facility is slated for completion by 2027, Peters said that's a conservative timeline and officials hope to build it sooner. In the meantime, he said, sewage spills can be detained or diverted further offshore to help prevent beach pollution on both sides of the border.

"I think we all understand that we can't have these beaches closed in the summer," Peters said.

Palestinians have case dropped after video proves police attack

Video shows two Palestinian men had been attacked by Israeli police, forcing prosecutors to drop the investigation.

Israeli police were shown to have attacked the two Palestinian men, Mohammad Abu al-Hommos and Adam Masri [File: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 22 Aug 2022
Occupied East Jerusalem – Two Palestinian men accused of assaulting Israeli police will not be charged after video evidence showed that they had actually been the ones attacked.

One of the victims, 56-year-old Mohammad Abu al-Hommos, a political activist in occupied East Jerusalem, said 30the prosecution had closed the investigation earlier in August, although the details of the case are only now being reported by the Israeli media.

“We were surprised three months ago when they charged us,” Abu al-Hommos told Al Jazeera. “We responded within the 30-day period permitted. They were surprised when our lawyer referred to the videos proving that we were the ones who were attacked by the police, and they dropped the charges.”

Footage from the night of the incident in November 2019 showed that the two men had been heavily beaten by police during an Israeli raid on their neighbourhood, al-Issawiya, in occupied East Jerusalem.

The video shows that Abu al-Hommos and his nephew, 36-year-old Adam Masri, had asked police officers not to park in their private parking space, but were then attacked by the officers.

“We had a family celebration that night – there were many of my relatives in the area. I was filming the raid with a group of foreign and Jewish journalists,” said Abu al-Hommos.

“As soon as we told them not to park there, they began assaulting us. They arrested Adam who had marks all over his face, and another nephew of mine, and later released them. We filed complaints to authorities but to no avail,” he continued.

Masri lost consciousness during the assault, while Abu al-Hommos was hospitalised, the latter said.

The prosecution had prepared a draft indictment without viewing the videos or factoring in the testimonies provided by officers involved in the incident, which contradicted the official police report, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday.

After potential police misconduct was raised early on in the trial proceedings, the judges handling the hearings ordered the case to be brought to the attention of the Ministry of Justice’s police misconduct unit, said Haaretz. The case against the officers was closed for insufficient evidence.

Israeli authorities only reviewed the video evidence after the lawyers for the two men sent a letter pointing out the contradictions between the video and the allegations in the charge sheet.

The draft indictment against the two men said that they had attacked the police officers and prevented them from blocking the road, going as far as saying that the men had beaten and bitten the officers.

The footage clearly showed that it was the Palestinian men who had been attacked.

“After additional consideration of the arguments in their entirety, and the evidence, it was decided not to file indictments against them and to close the file,” the prosecutor’s office said in a comment to Haaretz.

Abu al-Hommos says he has often been the target of Israeli police violence as a result of his activism in occupied East Jerusalem, and that the case was evidence of the false accusations that are levelled against Palestinians by the Israeli authorities.

“This is one of hundreds of files against Palestinian Jerusalemites that are crafted in order to always accuse the Palestinian of violence,” he said. “This time, they did not succeed.”

Iran accuses US of procrastination over nuclear deal

Washington and Europe need a deal more than Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani says

Representatives from the EU and Iran at a meeting in Vienna to discuss

 reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. AFP


Mina Aldroubi
Aug 22, 2022

Iran has said the US has been "procrastinating" after Tehran submitted a response to the EU's draft agreement aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior European official said this month that its draft was a final offer after 16 months of indirect talks between the US and Iran.

Last week, Tehran responded to the text with "additional views and considerations" and called on Washington to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues.

Washington said it was studying the Iranian response but has not yet released a statement.
READ MORE
Iran deal: what are the implications for the oil market?

"The Americans are procrastinating and there is inaction from the European sides ... America and Europe need an agreement more than Iran," said Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

"Tehran wanted a sustainable deal that would preserve Tehran's legitimate rights.

"Until we agree on all issues, we cannot say that we have reached a complete agreement."

He said a prisoner swap deal with Washington was not linked to the nuclear negotiations.

The EU and US last week said they were studying Iran's response to the proposal to revive the deal, under which curbs were put on Iran's nuclear programme in return for economic sanctions relief.

The US, UK, France and Germany discussed efforts to revive the deal on Sunday night.

"They discussed ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, the need to strengthen support for partners in the Middle East region, and joint efforts to deter and constrain Iran’s destabilising regional activities," the White House said.

The talks involved US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Concerns have been raised that a failure to agree on a deal could increase the risk of conflict.

Israel has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from developing the ability to make a nuclear weapon.

Former US president Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. Tehran responded by breaching limits on uranium enrichment outlined in the deal.

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Poland hits out at German 'fake news' over mystery fish deaths in river

Discovery of at least 136 tonnes of dead fish in the Oder river has mystified authorities on both sides

Volunteers gather dead fish and snails along the eastern bank of the Oder in Poland. Getty

Tim Stickings
Aug 22, 2022

The mystery deaths of thousands of fish in the River Oder that separates Germany from Poland has led to allegations of “fake news” flying across the border as authorities in both countries search for answers.

Polish Environment Minister Anna Moskwa hit back at suggestions from Germany that a high level of pesticides in the water might be to blame for poisoning the 866-kilometre river.

Her counterparts in Germany said it was up to Poland, where most of the upstream river lies, to explain how at least 136 tonnes of fish found themselves in unsafe waters.

READ MORE
Striking images of what has been revealed by droughts across the globe

Some activities such as bathing and fishing have been banned on the river while authorities investigate whether there is any danger to humans.

The wider ecosystem in the Oder, including mussels, molluscs, algae and bacteria, is thought to be threatened by whatever has been killing the fish.


Ms Moskwa said Poland was not responsible for any poisoning or release of dangerous chemicals. “More fake news being circulated in Germany … in Poland, the substances were tested and found to be below the detection limit, so with no effects on fish or other animals,” she said.

A panel of experts from both countries was expected to meet on Monday after scientific studies into the fish deaths.

An institute in Berlin reported that toxins released by certain kinds of algae had been detected in the river, suggesting the cause was man-made because those species would not normally be found in the Oder.

“To occur in large numbers in this area, the species is dependent on salinity levels that can only be produced by industrial discharges,” said researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries.

The environment ministry in Brandenburg said it might well be able to establish how the fish died, but that how and why the river was polluted “can only be cleared up by the Polish side”.

The death of thousands of fish has led to a swimming and fishing ban while authorities investigate. Getty

One laboratory in Brandenburg found high levels of pesticide between August 7 and 9, around the time the fish deaths were first noticed, leading to Ms Moskwa's rebuttal.

Germany said its own early warning system was in working order but that it had not received an alert from the Polish authorities until August 11, which did not include information about the possible cause of the deaths.

Some activities such as bathing and fishing have been banned on the river while authorities investigate whether there is any danger to humans.

The wider ecosystem in the Oder, including mussels, molluscs, algae and bacteria, is thought to be threatened by whatever has been killing the fish.

Things are little better in western Germany, where the country's longest river, the Rhine, has fallen to critically low water levels because of Europe's summer heatwave and drought.

Freight traffic has been affected along the vital inland shipping lane, deepening Germany's economic woes as energy providers struggle to get coal to power stations.

Europe's waterways hit by heatwave and drought - in pictures
















Dried mud and old trees at Colliford Lake in Cornwall, England, where water levels have severely dropped exposing the unseen trees and rocks in Cornwall's largest lake and reservoir. PA
Updated: August 22, 2022, 4:31 AM

LGBTQ Singaporeans welcome sex law repeal, decry marriage exclusion

By AFP
Published August 22, 2022

Gay rights campaigners have long said the law runs counter to the affluent city-state's vibrant culture and have unsuccessfully challenged the law in court - Copyright AFP Roslan RAHMAN

Singapore’s LGBTQ community on Monday welcomed the government’s plan to decriminalise gay sex but warned that upholding the traditional definition of marriage would only promote further inequality.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Sunday that the city-state would repeal the colonial-era law, but said the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman will be kept to allay fears of “a drastic shift in our societal norms”.

Section 377A of Singapore’s penal code penalises sex between men with up to two years in jail.

Gay rights campaigners have long said the law runs counter to the affluent city-state’s vibrant culture and have unsuccessfully challenged the law in court.

“I am elated and relieved for Singapore’s LGBT community,” said Roy Tan, one of several people who had unsuccessfully challenged the law in court.

Describing the repeal as the result of an “arduous” struggle, Tan said “we can progressively dismantle the impediments to the visibility and progress of queer citizens”.

While the law remained on the books, no one had been arrested or charged under Article 377A in Singapore for more than a decade, activists say.

Sunday’s announcement also put barriers on the path to full marriage equality.

Lee said national policies such as those covering access to subsidised public housing and adoption rules will continue to be based on the traditional definition of marriage.

As it stands, people can still challenge the constitutionality of the definition. Lee, however, said that doing so would risk the court stepping into policy-making.

“Judges interpret and apply the law… They have neither the expertise nor the mandate to settle political questions, nor rule on social norms and values,” Lee said.

Reactions to Lee’s Facebook post on repealing the law were mixed, with some lauding the move as a “bold step” while others said they were “saddened” by the decision.

– Barriers to marriage equality –

The constitution would need to be amended to shield the definition of marriage from further constitutional challenges, Lee said, a move that is likely to sail through parliament if undertaken as the ruling People’s Action Party has a more than two-thirds majority.

It was unclear what the amendments would look like but the challenges to 377A largely revolved around a constitutional provision which guarantees citizens equality and equal protection under the law.

The LGBTQ community said the repeal “is the first step on a long road towards full equality”.

But they opposed any further laws and constitutional changes to protect the traditional definition of marriage as they would promote unequal treatment.

“We urge the government not to heed recent calls from religious conservatives to enshrine the definition of marriage into the constitution,” more than 20 LGBTQ groups said in a joint statement late Sunday.

“Such a decision will undermine the secular character of our constitution, codify further discrimination into supreme law, and tie the hands of future parliaments.”

Tan, the activist, said: “I look forward to a future where we can hold our heads up high as equals in the eyes of the law instead of living as marginalised, second-class citizens in our own country.”

Maria Sjodin, executive director at US-based LGBTQ rights campaigner OutRight Action International, said the repeal would “hopefully also inspire the continued struggle across the world to remove the laws that hinder equality and respect for LGBTQ people everywhere”.

According to a 2020 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), homosexuality is prohibited in 69 countries, including 11 where it is punishable by death.

A glimpse into future at World Robot Conference in China

Online News EditorAugust 19, 2022

 

By Alvaro Alfaro

Beijing, Aug 19 (EFE).- Robots that care for the elderly, conduct PCR tests, and deliver packages are some of the highlights of the 2022 World Robot Conference underway in Beijing.

The event, organized between Aug.18 to 21, brings together more than 130 companies that showcase the latest advances in robotics in China, where the sector had a turnover of 83 billion yuan ($12.23 billion) in 2021.

The participants display how robots can contribute to different sectors, including the restaurant industry, medicine, elderly care, agriculture, and manufacturing.

One of the main event attractions is the robots that carry out PCR tests.

After a series of coronavirus outbreaks in the country in spring, the inhabitants of large cities undergo several weekly PCR tests to gain entry into public places, including stores, parks, and even the conference.

The authorities of the Chinese megalopolises have fixed a target of setting up testing booths so every resident can find one within a 15-minute walk.

It has led to thousands of such booths on the country’s streets.

The robotic cabin developed by a laboratory affiliated with Tsinghua University promises to test a sample in 35 seconds with a 99.9 percent effectiveness.

With the push of a button, a mechanical arm comes out of the cabin and places a stick of cotton in the mouth of the person being tested.

Owing to their ability to work for many hours at a time, these robots could help ease the long queues outside testing booths in high populated areas.

Healthcare robotics occupies a prominent place in the event with robots that perform dental procedures, high-precision surgeries, and vaccinations.

Companies are also displaying their creations in the elderly care sector, which is expected to grow considerably in the future as the Chinese population ages.

The robot developed by Robint is equipped with a camera and is capable of moving around an elderly person’s house, keeping track of the medicines they have taken, and alerting if any have been skipped.

It also has a thermometer and a blood pressure monitor with data synchronized to monitor the patient’s health.

“In China, there are more than 260 million elderly people,” a company representative told EFE.

“If only a small percentage of them buy these products, we would already be talking about a huge market.”

By 2035, people over 60 are expected to constitute more than 30 percent of the Chinese population compared to the current 18 percent.

Two Chinese digital giants, the JD e-commerce platform and the Meituan food delivery firm, were also present at the event.

For years, these companies have been at the forefront of developing logistics robots to save millions of dollars in wages for their delivery personnel.

What will humanoid robots be used for in the future?

2022/8/18 12:48 (EDT)
© Agence France-Presse
Photo Courtesy of Xiaomi



While waiting for other players to enter the fray, the humanoid robot war is already raging between the United States' Tesla and China's Xiaomi. From assembly line work to personal services, these robots could have very practical uses once they're made operational.

While waiting for other players to enter the fray, the humanoid robot war is already raging between the United States' Tesla and China's Xiaomi. From assembly line work to personal services, these robots could have very practical uses once they're made operational.

Whether the Tesla Optimus or the Xiaomi CyberOne, these robots are the size (between 1m70 and 1m80 or 5 ft 6 inches to 5 ft 9 inches) and the weight (about 50 kilos or 110 pounds) of an average human, and can walk and move like a person. The more elaborate of the two, Xiaomi's CyberOne, is also capable of perceiving space in 3D as well as recognizing individuals as well as their gestures, their expressions and their emotions. Artificial intelligence gives it the capability of interacting with humans, such as comforting someone who is unhappy. Meanwhile, Tesla's Elon Musk has long spoken of his dream of grafting an artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence onto his robots. A first prototype of the Optimus robot is set to be revealed before the end of the year.

The potential of such robots seems nearly limitless. However, it's within an industry setting that these robots will first need to demonstrate their worth. As Elon Musk himself announced, this type of robot would be perfect for alleviating humans of "repetitive, boring and dangerous tasks." In the factory, they could work on a production line, carry heavy loads or screw in bolts. In everyday life, they could do errands like mowing the lawn or walking the dog.

Once their operations have become more elaborate and "intelligent," these humanoid robots could very well be used to assist elderly or dependent people. But to start with there's more chance of seeing them on a production line than in a nursing home or in a regular home setting.

 

Mystery of Ecuador’s Guano mummy deepens

Online News EditorAugust 5, 2022

 

By Susana Madera

Guano, Ecuador, Aug 5 (EFE).- The mystery of the Guano mummy, a naturally mummified body discovered here 73 years ago has deepened in the wake of a scientific analysis indicating that the remains are not those of a 16th-century Spanish friar on a mission to evangelize the indigenous people of present-day central Ecuador.

Measuring 156 cm (61.4 in) and encased in a jar, the body was found following the earthquake that rocked Guano on Aug. 5, 1949, which caused one of the walls of the colonial-era church to collapse.

It was long thought that the mummy corresponded to Fray Lazaro de Santofimia, a guardian of the Church of the Assumption and the adjoining Franciscan monastery.

The accepted account held that Fray Lazaro was buried in the walls of the church after dying of natural causes, the director of research for Ecuador’s National Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC), Maria Ordoñez, told Efe.

Three years ago, Ordoñez and French scientist Philippe Charlier started a new study of the mummy building on earlier efforts by the team from National Geographic who took X-rays of the body and by researchers at Quito’s San Francisco University, where the remains underwent a CT scan.

The latest analysis has identified the cause of death as rheumatoid polyarthritis, an autoimmune disease common in the Americas but rare in Europe and Asia prior to the European conquest of the New World.

In the case of the mummy, the disease appears to have arisen from an abscess in the jaw.

Carbon-14 dating shows that the remains are from the period between 1735 and 1802 and according to Ordoñez, who earned a doctorate in archaeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, the clothing points to an origin later than the 16th century.

Some of the garments were machine-made in a “period when a textile industry was already starting,” she said.

Moreover, the DNA extracted from the remains indicates that the subject was of mixed European and indigenous heritage, which makes it “most probable” the remains are not those of Fray Lazaro, she said.

Though the man’s identity remains a question mark, the dating of the remains has allowed scientists to rule out the possibility that the body represented the missing link in the spread of rheumatoid polyarthritis to Europe, Ordoñez told Efe. EFE sm/dr

Argentine scientists discover fungus that can decontaminate cigarette butts

Online News EditorAugust 19, 2022

 

By Augusto Morel

Buenos Aires, Aug 19 (EFE).- Scientists in Buenos Aires have discovered a fungus that can decontaminate cigarette butts — one of the most common waste found on Argentina’s beaches.

Although small and often gone unnoticed, one cigarette butt can contaminate up to 40 liters of water, making it a severe pollutant of the ocean.

“It all started through an NGO that cleans beaches and who didn’t know what to do with all that toxic material, so they contacted us to find a solution,” biologist at the Experimental Mycology laboratory of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Pilar Núñez, tells Efe.

The most polluting elements in a cigarette are tar and nicotine, which remain active in the butt even after combustion. The only way to decontaminate it is through bioremediation — a process that uses living organisms to eliminate toxins from a material.

Scientists at UBA have found a fungi species that can be used in the bioremediation of cigarette butts. White-rot fungi grow on tree trunks in the jungle of the Misiones region on the Argentinean coast and digest moist wood, causing it to rot.

“We isolated the fungi and brought them back to the lab to begin treatment. They can degrade and feed on wood or paper, and when they come into contact with cigarette butts they eat the cellulose acetate of the filter, cleaning the toxic environment to defend themselves and survive,” Núñez explains.

The project will soon be tested on a pilot plant that could bring the environmental recycling technology to the industrial level.

“If I manage to generate a system that removes toxic waste from the environment, you have a free hand to reuse it,” the biologist says.

While the scientists have succeeded in finding the solution to decontaminate cigarette butts, they hope to be able to expand the project for other toxic materials.

“This research can open a lot of doors,” Raúl Itria, researcher at the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI), says.

White-rot fungi can also absorb heavy metals and metalloids such as chromium and arsenic, which are harmful to the environment and human health, he explains.

But the scientists are facing challenges and struggling to find funding to expand the project.

“Science in Argentina is difficult, we have a very high level and good universities, but we have been struggling for many years because of the situation we are living in,” Dr. Laura Levin, head of the Experimental Mycology laboratory at UBA, tells Efe referring to the economic crisis Argentina is currently facing.

Funds for the research projects are accessed through annual competitions. The maximum amounts for next year reach up to $4,400 dollars, which barely covers the necessary expenses of the trials.

“Fortunately, there are young, eager people who with a bigger budget, could achieve much more,” Dr. Levin says. EFE

am/mp/jt

China’s booming pet economy sparks rise in funeral services

Online News EditorAugust 12, 2022

 

Beijing, Aug 12 (EFE).- China’s booming pet economy has sparked a rise in funeral services for animals, with pets also expected to be honored as part of Friday’s Ghost Festival celebrations.

The festival is observed on the 15th night of the seventh month according to the Chinese lunar calendar when, according to popular culture, the spirits of ancestors awaken to roam the world of mortals.

Families mark the event by burning incense and fake money for ancestors to enjoy in the afterlife and hosting plentiful banquets to honor the dead.

And it is not just humans being honored. With some 70 million pet owners, funeral rituals and commemorative events for pets have increased in recent years.

BOOMING SECTOR

By late 2020, China’s pet market had reached $44 billion and is expected to swell to $64 billion by 2023, according to a report by IResearch Consulting Group.

Within the pet economy, there are around 1,400 companies offering services and products which include cremation and funeral services for the three million animals that die each year in China.

“We receive between 800 and 1,000 reservations every year,” Wang Yinghao, co-founder of Beijing-based company Rainbow Planet, tells Efe.

Rainbow Planet’s funeral services cost between $89 and $890, depending on the weight and breed of the animal.

Customers typically book them “a day after their pet dies,” Wang adds.

A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY

Pet funeral services originated in Japan and first emerged in China in 2005, Liu Hongyan, a researcher with the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted as saying by local media.

The most common method of disposing of animal remains is cremation, which not only prevents the spread of bacteria but also provides owners with a dignified way to say goodbye.

“These services are very comfortable. Our dogs, who love us unconditionally, deserve a dignified way to undertake their last trip and the ceremony serves as a consolation for the family, who will have no regrets,” Zhu Xiaopo, a user of dog funeral services, said on social media.

But not everyone agrees. “Bury it and that’s it, what need is there for everything to become a consumer item?” another person commented.

One of the issues the young and rapidly expanding sector faces is the absence of a regulatory authority and a lack of training for workers in the industry, something Liu says could be solved by getting the pet industry to help inform government guidelines and regulations for the sector.

“In view of the rapid development of the pet funeral industry in China, the regulatory authorities should accept consumer demands and respect that development while regulating unreasonable business practices in a timely manner,” Liu said, according to the state-backed China Daily newspaper.EFE

aa/ch

Police file terrorism charges against Pakistan’s former leader Imran Khan

Khan’s political party published online videos showing supporters surrounding his home to potentially stop police from reaching it.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has held mass rallies seeking to return to office.Arif Ali / AFP - Getty Images


Aug. 22, 2022, / Source: Associated Press
By Mushtaq Yusufzai and Associated Press

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Police have filed terrorism charges against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, authorities said Monday, escalating political tensions in the country as the ousted premier holds mass rallies seeking to return to office.

The terrorism charges come over a speech Khan gave in Islamabad on Saturday in which he vowed to sue police officers and a female judge and alleged that a close aide had been tortured after his arrest.

Khan himself appeared to still be free and had not immediately addressed the police charge sheet being lodged against him. Khan’s political party — Tehreek-e-Insaf, now in the opposition — published online videos showing supporters surrounding his home to potentially stop police from reaching it.

A senior party leader, Shaukat Yousafzai, told NBC News that hundreds of policemen had gathered outside Khan's residence in Islamabad but not yet arrested him. He said thousands of party workers had arrived in the capital and many others were on the way to defend their leader.

“He is a law abiding citizen of the country and doesn’t want to violate the law but if the government wanted to arrest him under same charges of sedition, then it should also take action against all other politicians accused of sedition charges,” Yousafzai said.

Tehreek-e-Insaf warned that it will hold nationwide rallies if Khan is arrested.
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Supporters of Imran Khan's party gathered outside his residence in Islamabad on Monday. Anjum Naveed / AP

Under Pakistan’s legal system, police file what is known as a first information report about charges against an accused person to a magistrate judge, who allows the investigation to move forward. Typically, police then arrest and question the accused.

The report against Khan includes testimony from Magistrate Judge Ali Javed, who described being at the Islamabad rally on Saturday and hearing Khan criticize the inspector-general of Pakistan’s police and another judge. Khan went on to reportedly say: “You also get ready for it, we will also take action against you. All of you must be ashamed.”

Khan could face several years in prison from the new charges, which accuse him of threatening police officers and the judge. However, he’s not been detained on other lesser charges levied against him in his recent campaigning against the government.

The Pakistani judiciary also has a history of politicization and taking sides in power struggles between the military, the civilian government and opposition politicians, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House.

Khan came to power in 2018, promising to break the pattern of family rule in Pakistan. His opponents contend he was elected with help from the powerful military, which has ruled the country for half of its 75-year history.

In seeking Khan’s ouster earlier this year, the opposition had accused him of economic mismanagement as inflation soars and the Pakistani rupee plummets in value. The parliament’s no-confidence vote in April that ousted Khan capped months of political turmoil and a constitutional crisis that required the Supreme Court to step in. Meanwhile, it appeared the military similarly had cooled to Khan.

Khan alleged without providing evidence that the Pakistani military took part in a U.S. plot to oust him after he denied the U.S. bases in Pakistan.

Washington, the Pakistani military and the government of Khan’s successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, have all denied that. Meanwhile, Khan has been carrying out a series of mass rallies trying to pressure Sharif’s government.

In his latest speech Sunday night at a rally in the city of Rawalpindi outside of Islamabad, Khan said so-called “neutrals” were behind the recent crackdown against his party. He has in the past used the phrase “neutrals” for the military.

On Sunday, the internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks said internet services in the country blocked access to YouTube after Khan broadcast a live speech on the platform despite a ban issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority.
Mushtaq Yusufzai

 

Pakistan court grants pre-arrest bail to former PM Imran Khan

Online News EditorAugust 22, 2022

Islamabad, Aug 22 (EFE).- Pakistan’s High Court of Islamabad granted Monday a three-day pre-arrest bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case involving terrorism charges, his lawyer said.

“The Islamabad High Court has awarded a three-day protective bail to Imran Khan. We said in the court that he is ready to surrender himself before the law,” Khan’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry told EFE.

“During these three days he will appear at the Anti-terrorism Court and face the charges against him,” he added.

The government registered a case against Khan on Sunday under the Anti-Terrorism Act, following a speech – telecast live on TV – in which he threatened to register a case against police officials for “torturing” party leader Shahbaz Gill in custody.

Khan had also threatened Judge Zeba Chaudhry for approving the police’s request for a second physical remand despite allegedly knowing that Gill was subjected to “torture” during the first remand.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has issued a notification banning the live telecast of Khan’s speeches.

PEMRA said the former prime minister has been continuously “leveling baseless allegations and spreading hate speech through his provocative statements against state institutions and officers which is prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order.”

Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has said it will challenge the ban in court.

Addressing a huge public rally in Rawalpindi on Sunday, Khan leveled a series of allegations against the “neutrals,” referring to the military establishment.

Khan claimed police officials told him that they received orders from the “top,” or the military, to inflict torture on Gill.

The former prime minister also warned the army saying “do whatever you want to do, I will gather my whole nation.”

PTI supporters converged at Khan’s residence in Bani Gala neighborhood in Islamabad on Sunday night, to confront the police in case they came to arrest him.

Moreover, PTI leaders have warned that arresting Khan would be like crossing a “red line,” and would lead to the entire country coming to a standstill.

Khan has accused the United States of orchestrating his ouster from power through a vote of no-confidence in April, for his Russia visit during the start of its invasion of Ukraine. Washington and the Pakistan opposition have denied the charge.

Lately, he has urged the powerful military establishment in Pakistan to play a role in paving way for fresh elections in the country, as he claims the current government does not enjoy the people’s support. EFE

Pakistan bans live broadcast of former PM Imran Khan’s speeches

Online News EditorAugust 21, 2022

 

Islamabad, Aug 21 (EFE).- Pakistan’s media regulator introduced a ban on live broadcasts of Imran Khan’s speeches on Sunday sparking outcry among the former prime minister’s supporters.

The move came hours after Khan criticized the government during a rally in Islamabad.

​​In his speech, which was broadcast live, Khan warned he would bring lawsuits against high-ranking police officers and magistrate Zeba Chaudhry over the detention of his assistant Shahbaz Gill.

Gill was detained on sedition charges on August 10 and was allegedly tortured while in police custody.

Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said the veto by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was a sign of fascism.

“Imported Fascists are trying to ban Imran Khan’s speeches on TV,” the PTI tweeted before urging supporters to subscribe to their YouTube channel.

“They have lost the battle completely and are now using fascism” Khan’s party warned.

The regulator said in a notice sent to channels Saturday that Khan, in his speeches, was “continuously alleging state institutions by leveling baseless allegations and spreading hate speech through his provocative statements against state institutions and officers,” Pakistani media reported on Sunday.

A spokesperson for former Prime Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the ban had been imposed out of fear of Khan’s popular interventions.

PEMRA added that only pre-recorded Khan speeches would be aired from now on.

Gill, a close associate of Khan, faces sedition charges over comments he made on a television channel.

The politician was admitted to a state hospital in Islamabad this week after his health deteriorated while in police detention in neighboring Rawalpindi.

According to the PTI leader, Gill was subjected to physical torture, including “sexual abuse” while in police custody.

The move against Khan comes after a report was filed Saturday at an Islamabad police station over his speech inciting people to rebel against state institutions, according to police sources.

A police station official told Efe, on condition of anonymity, that “senior officers” would decide whether to file a case against Khan based on the report.

Khan was ousted from power in a vote of no confidence in April,a move orchestrated by incumbent Shehbaz Sharif. EFE

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