The Indian foreign minister is in the UAE and so is the foreign minister of Pakistan. Is this a mere coincidence or part of a plan? What's cooking in Abu Dhabi?&nbsp;

The visits have come just days after a top Emirati diplomat confirmed that the UAE was playing a key role in bringing both countries, India and Pakistan, to the talking table. The diplomat in question is the UAE's ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba.&nbsp;

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On Saturday, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi embarked on a three-day trip to the UAE. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar landed on Sunday.&nbsp;

Interestingly, this was the second time both foreign ministers were in the same country at the same time, that too in less than three weeks.&nbsp;

They both came face-to-face in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe for the Heart of Asia summit on March 30, but no meeting took place. Did they happen to meet this time? Reports say they didn't.&nbsp;

In fact, there were no bilateral meetings on the agenda at all. So, what happened then?&nbsp;

In his day-long visit, Dr S Jaishankar met his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They discussed bilateral cooperation, economic collaboration, community welfare, and post-pandemic economic recovery. &nbsp;&nbsp;

As for Qureshi, in his meeting with UAE's foreign minister, the discussions ranged from bilateral trade, investment to job opportunities for the Pakistani diaspora. &nbsp;

This is what we know officially and we don't want to make any assumptions but the last-minute nature of these visits and the events that lead to them and the accompanying statements from top diplomats leave very little scope for imagination. &nbsp;

The first indication came on February 25, the second anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes. Both India and Pakistan surprised the world and issued a joint statement, agreeing to strictly observe ceasefire along the Line of Control.&nbsp;

Then in March, the real rulers extended an olive branch, the Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa called a stable Indo-Pak relationship, the key to unlocking South Asia's potential. &nbsp;

The same month, on March 31, Pakistan's economic coordination committee recommended that the ban on importing sugar and cotton from India be lifted. The positive headlines lasted barely 24 hours and the ban was imposed again due to domestic pressure but the recommendation gave a whiff of normalisation of ties. &nbsp;

This was followed by reports of Emirati officials facilitating back-channel talks between the two sides. Now, the coinciding visits of both foreign ministers have once again reignited speculation. &nbsp;

Both Islamabad and New Delhi maintain absolute silence on what's happening but as they say, sometimes silence itself speaks volumes, and especially when it comes to the India-Pakistan conundrum, nothing speaks louder than silence.&nbsp;

The Indian foreign minister is in the UAE and so is the foreign minister of Pakistan. Is this a mere coincidence or part of a plan? What's cooking in Abu Dhabi? The visits have come just days after a top Emirati diplomat confirmed that the UAE was playing a key role in bringing both countries, India and Pakistan, to the talking table.

The Indian foreign minister is in the UAE and so is the foreign minister of Pakistan. Is this a mere coincidence or part of a plan? What's cooking in Abu Dhabi? The visits have come just days after a top Emirati diplomat confirmed that the UAE was playing a key role in bringing both countries, India and Pakistan, to the talking table. The diplomat in question is the UAE's ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba. On Saturday, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi embarked on a three-day trip to the UAE. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar landed on Sunday. Interestingly, this was the second time both foreign ministers were in the same country at the same time, that too in less than three weeks. They both came face-to-face in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe for the Heart of Asia summit on March 30, but no meeting took place. Did they happen to meet this time? Reports say they didn't. In fact, there were no bilateral meetings on the agenda at all. So, what happened then? In his day-long visit, Dr S Jaishankar met his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They discussed bilateral cooperation, economic collaboration, community welfare, and post-pandemic economic recovery. As for Qureshi, in his meeting with UAE's foreign minister, the discussions ranged from bilateral trade, investment to job opportunities for the Pakistani diaspora. This is what we know officially and we don't want to make any assumptions but the last-minute nature of these visits and the events that lead to them and the accompanying statements from top diplomats leave very little scope for imagination. The first indication came on February 25, the second anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes. Both India and Pakistan surprised the world and issued a joint statement, agreeing to strictly observe ceasefire along the Line of Control. Then in March, the real rulers extended an olive branch, the Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa called a stable Indo-Pak relationship, the key to unlocking South Asia's potential. The same month, on March 31, Pakistan's economic coordination committee recommended that the ban on importing sugar and cotton from India be lifted. The positive headlines lasted barely 24 hours and the ban was imposed again due to domestic pressure but the recommendation gave a whiff of normalisation of ties. This was followed by reports of Emirati officials facilitating back-channel talks between the two sides. Now, the coinciding visits of both foreign ministers have once again reignited speculation. Both Islamabad and New Delhi maintain absolute silence on what's happening but as they say, sometimes silence itself speaks volumes, and especially when it comes to the India-Pakistan conundrum, nothing speaks louder than silence.

Are India and Pakistan heading for normalisation of relations? 

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is fighting for life in Russia for over three weeks. Navanly has been on a hunger strike and his health has deteriorated over the weekend. &nbsp;

Navalny's doctor warned that he could die 'at any moment'. Alexei Navalny is the most prominent critic of Vladimir Putin in Russia. &nbsp;

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Navalny is in jail since March and has also been on a hunger strike. Reports say prison authorities refused to provide him with adequate medical care for an acute leg and back pain. So, Navalny went on a hunger strike and his condition worsened. &nbsp;

On Sunday, his doctors tried to visit him in prison but they were denied access. On Monday, Navalny was transferred to a hospital in another jail. &nbsp;

Opposition leaders have spoken up for him. Nearly a dozen politicians in Russia have published an open letter to President Putin. They hold Putin personally responsible for the life of Navalny. Moscow has neither responded nor expressed any concern. &nbsp;

The situation is escalating. Navalny's allies have announced rallies across Russia on Wednesday. They've started a petition and said if 500,000 supporters sign it, they will launch street protests again. As of Sunday, the petition was 50,000 signatures shy of its target.&nbsp;

Navalny's health could lead to an international showdown. The European Union has told Russia that Navalny must receive medical aid. The United States is considering sanctions. US national security advisor Jake Sullivan has issued a statement. He says the Biden administration is weighing options to punish Russia if Navalny dies in prison. &nbsp;

Navalny perhaps knew what was coming in January. He said, he had no plans to commit suicide in prison as his life hangs in the balance. &nbsp;

Information about Navalny's health remains scarce. The Russian penitential system has released a statement, saying that the Kremlin critic was moved for 'treatment with vitamins'. Russian authorities say Navalny's health is satisfactory. The West is watching him closely. &nbsp;

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is fighting for life in Russia for over three weeks. Navanly has been on a hunger strike and his health has deteriorated over the weekend.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is fighting for life in Russia for over three weeks. Navanly has been on a hunger strike and his health has deteriorated over the weekend. Navalny's doctor warned that he could die 'at any moment'. Alexei Navalny is the most prominent critic of Vladimir Putin in Russia. Navalny is in jail since March and has also been on a hunger strike. Reports say prison authorities refused to provide him with adequate medical care for an acute leg and back pain. So, Navalny went on a hunger strike and his condition worsened. On Sunday, his doctors tried to visit him in prison but they were denied access. On Monday, Navalny was transferred to a hospital in another jail. Opposition leaders have spoken up for him. Nearly a dozen politicians in Russia have published an open letter to President Putin. They hold Putin personally responsible for the life of Navalny. Moscow has neither responded nor expressed any concern. The situation is escalating. Navalny's allies have announced rallies across Russia on Wednesday. They've started a petition and said if 500,000 supporters sign it, they will launch street protests again. As of Sunday, the petition was 50,000 signatures shy of its target. Navalny's health could lead to an international showdown. The European Union has told Russia that Navalny must receive medical aid. The United States is considering sanctions. US national security advisor Jake Sullivan has issued a statement. He says the Biden administration is weighing options to punish Russia if Navalny dies in prison. Navalny perhaps knew what was coming in January. He said, he had no plans to commit suicide in prison as his life hangs in the balance. Information about Navalny's health remains scarce. The Russian penitential system has released a statement, saying that the Kremlin critic was moved for 'treatment with vitamins'. Russian authorities say Navalny's health is satisfactory. The West is watching him closely.

World watches closely as Navalny fights for life in Russia  

The Czech Republic said on Monday Russia's eviction of 20 Czech embassy employees in response to Prague's expulsion of 18 Russian staff was a stronger than expected reaction and the government will consider further steps.&nbsp;

Acting Czech Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek said he had asked fellow European Union foreign ministers for 'an expression of solidarity' at a video conference on Monday.&nbsp;

"I expect that also on the basis of this..., we will learn about more expressions of support and it will be up to member states if they add some concrete decisions."&nbsp;

The central European country ordered the Russian diplomats out on Saturday, saying it suspected Russian intelligence was involved in explosions at an ammunition depot in October and December 2014.&nbsp;

"The reaction (by Russia) is stronger than we had expected, it is more diplomats than the number of intelligence officers we expelled," Hamacek told a televised news conference.&nbsp;

"I will meet the prime minister and discuss whether and when it will be needed to take some further steps from the Czech side."&nbsp;

The Czech government has said it has reasonable suspicion that two Russian intelligence agents accused of a nerve agent poisoning in Britain in 2018 were behind the ammunition depot blasts four years before that killed two people. &nbsp;

Russia's Foreign Ministry criticised Prague's decision not to disclose all details of the investigation to Moscow, describing the affair as a blow to bilateral relations.&nbsp;

"This is proof that this whole story is a fabricated, dirty, disgusting fake," RIA news agency cited Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.&nbsp;

The row is the biggest between Prague and Moscow since the end of decades of Soviet domination of central and eastern European countries in 1989.&nbsp;

The Kremlin, commenting on the allegations that Russian intelligence was involved in the explosions and on the subsequent diplomatic expulsions, called the Czech Republic's actions 'provocative and unfriendly'.&nbsp;

The Czech Foreign Ministry said the Russian Embassy in Prague had 129 diplomats and other personnel, and two regional consulates - about twice the size of the Czech Embassy in Moscow, which the Russian countermeasure left severely hit.&nbsp;

The Czech Republic said on Monday Russia's eviction of 20 Czech embassy employees in response to Prague's expulsion of 18 Russian staff was a stronger than expected reaction and the government will consider further steps.

The Czech Republic said on Monday Russia's eviction of 20 Czech embassy employees in response to Prague's expulsion of 18 Russian staff was a stronger than expected reaction and the government will consider further steps. Acting Czech Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek said he had asked fellow European Union foreign ministers for 'an expression of solidarity' at a video conference on Monday. "I expect that also on the basis of this..., we will learn about more expressions of support and it will be up to member states if they add some concrete decisions." The central European country ordered the Russian diplomats out on Saturday, saying it suspected Russian intelligence was involved in explosions at an ammunition depot in October and December 2014. "The reaction (by Russia) is stronger than we had expected, it is more diplomats than the number of intelligence officers we expelled," Hamacek told a televised news conference. "I will meet the prime minister and discuss whether and when it will be needed to take some further steps from the Czech side." The Czech government has said it has reasonable suspicion that two Russian intelligence agents accused of a nerve agent poisoning in Britain in 2018 were behind the ammunition depot blasts four years before that killed two people. Russia's Foreign Ministry criticised Prague's decision not to disclose all details of the investigation to Moscow, describing the affair as a blow to bilateral relations. "This is proof that this whole story is a fabricated, dirty, disgusting fake," RIA news agency cited Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. The row is the biggest between Prague and Moscow since the end of decades of Soviet domination of central and eastern European countries in 1989. The Kremlin, commenting on the allegations that Russian intelligence was involved in the explosions and on the subsequent diplomatic expulsions, called the Czech Republic's actions 'provocative and unfriendly'. The Czech Foreign Ministry said the Russian Embassy in Prague had 129 diplomats and other personnel, and two regional consulates - about twice the size of the Czech Embassy in Moscow, which the Russian countermeasure left severely hit.

Diplomat ousters: Czechs say Russian retaliation stronger than expected, seek EU solidarity 

Russia has concentrated more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine's border and in annexed Crimea, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday after EU foreign ministers were briefed by Ukraine's foreign minister.&nbsp;

"It is more than 150,000 Russian troops massing on the Ukrainian borders and in Crimea. The risk of further escalation is evident," Borrell said, declining to give a source for the figure.&nbsp;

He said no new economic sanctions or expulsions of Russian diplomats were planned for the time being, despite saying that the military build-up on Ukraine's borders was the largest ever.&nbsp;

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, after addressing EU foreign ministers, called on the EU to impose new sanctions on Russia.&nbsp;

Tensions between Moscow and Kyiv have been rising amid the military build-up and clashes in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro-Russian separatists.&nbsp;

Earlier, Russia reinforced its naval presence in the Black Sea and sent two warships. These warships transited the Bosphorus on Saturday along with 15 smaller vessels. These monoeuvres have come at a time when Russia-Ukraine relations are strained over Russian military presence on its border with the country.&nbsp;

Moscow calls the huge troop buildup a temporary defensive exercise.&nbsp;

The Russian warships that transited the Bosphorus are Ropucha-class landing ships from Russia's Northern fleet. The ships are capable of carrying tanks and troops for the coastal assault.&nbsp;

More Russian naval reinforcements in the form of two more landing ships, this time from Russia's Baltic Fleet, are expected to imminently transit the Bosphorus.&nbsp;

The RIA news agency on Saturday also reported that 15 smaller vessels from Russia's Caspian Flotilla have completed their transfer to the Black Sea as part of an exercise.&nbsp;

In a further sign of heightened tensions in the region, a ship carrying logistics trucks and equipment for NATO forces in Romania transited the Bosphorus on Friday evening. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) &nbsp;

Russia has concentrated more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine's border and in annexed Crimea, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday after EU foreign ministers were briefed by Ukraine's foreign minister.

Russia has concentrated more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine's border and in annexed Crimea, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday after EU foreign ministers were briefed by Ukraine's foreign minister. "It is more than 150,000 Russian troops massing on the Ukrainian borders and in Crimea. The risk of further escalation is evident," Borrell said, declining to give a source for the figure. He said no new economic sanctions or expulsions of Russian diplomats were planned for the time being, despite saying that the military build-up on Ukraine's borders was the largest ever. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, after addressing EU foreign ministers, called on the EU to impose new sanctions on Russia. Tensions between Moscow and Kyiv have been rising amid the military build-up and clashes in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro-Russian separatists. Earlier, Russia reinforced its naval presence in the Black Sea and sent two warships. These warships transited the Bosphorus on Saturday along with 15 smaller vessels. These monoeuvres have come at a time when Russia-Ukraine relations are strained over Russian military presence on its border with the country. Moscow calls the huge troop buildup a temporary defensive exercise. The Russian warships that transited the Bosphorus are Ropucha-class landing ships from Russia's Northern fleet. The ships are capable of carrying tanks and troops for the coastal assault. More Russian naval reinforcements in the form of two more landing ships, this time from Russia's Baltic Fleet, are expected to imminently transit the Bosphorus. The RIA news agency on Saturday also reported that 15 smaller vessels from Russia's Caspian Flotilla have completed their transfer to the Black Sea as part of an exercise. In a further sign of heightened tensions in the region, a ship carrying logistics trucks and equipment for NATO forces in Romania transited the Bosphorus on Friday evening. (With inputs from agencies)

Russia amassed over 150,000 troops along Ukraine border, says top EU diplomat Borrell  

Iran and world powers have made some progress on how to revive the 2015 nuclear accord later abandoned by the United States, and an interim deal could be a way to gain time for a lasting settlement, Iranian officials said on Monday. &nbsp;

Tehran and the powers have been meeting in Vienna since early April to work on steps that must be taken, touching on US sanctions and Iran's recent breaches of the deal, to bring back Tehran and Washington into full compliance with the accord. &nbsp;

"We are on the right track and some progress has been made, but this does not mean that the talks in Vienna have reached the final stage," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference in Tehran.&nbsp;

"Practical solutions are still far away, but we have moved from general words to agreeing on specific steps towards the goal,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog agency (IAEA), wrote on Twitter on Monday.&nbsp;

US President Joe Biden's administration, which took office in January pledging to rejoin the deal, has said it is ready to remove 'all sanctions that are inconsistent' with the accord, but not spelled out which measures it means. &nbsp;

Iran's clerical establishment has said it will not return to strict observance of the 2015 agreement unless all sanctions reimposed or added by former President Donald Trump after he ditched the accord in 2018 are rescinded first.&nbsp;

Diplomats say sequenced steps by each side may offer a solution, while Iranian officials said the high-stakes talks in Vienna might yield an interim deal to give space to diplomacy on a lasting settlement.&nbsp;

"The May deadline is approaching...What is being discussed in Vienna for the near term is the main outlines of an interim deal to give all sides more time to resolve complicated technical issues," said an Iranian official. &nbsp;

He referred to a law passed by Iran's hardline-dominated parliament that obliges the government to harden its nuclear stance if sanctions are not lifted. &nbsp;

The law mandated an end to short-notice UN nuclear inspections from February 21, but Tehran and the IAEA agreed to keep up ‘necessary' monitoring for up to three months. &nbsp;

Another Iranian official said that if a political agreement was reached on technical steps to remove all sanctions, Tehran might suspend enrichment to 20% purity in return for a release of blocked Iranian funds in other countries.&nbsp;

Iran says $20 billion of its oil revenue has been frozen in countries like South Korea, Iraq and China under the US sanctions regime since 2018. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Iran and world powers have made some progress on how to revive the 2015 nuclear accord later abandoned by the United States, and an interim deal could be a way to gain time for a lasting settlement, Iranian officials said on Monday.

Iran and world powers have made some progress on how to revive the 2015 nuclear accord later abandoned by the United States, and an interim deal could be a way to gain time for a lasting settlement, Iranian officials said on Monday. Tehran and the powers have been meeting in Vienna since early April to work on steps that must be taken, touching on US sanctions and Iran's recent breaches of the deal, to bring back Tehran and Washington into full compliance with the accord. "We are on the right track and some progress has been made, but this does not mean that the talks in Vienna have reached the final stage," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference in Tehran. "Practical solutions are still far away, but we have moved from general words to agreeing on specific steps towards the goal,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog agency (IAEA), wrote on Twitter on Monday. US President Joe Biden's administration, which took office in January pledging to rejoin the deal, has said it is ready to remove 'all sanctions that are inconsistent' with the accord, but not spelled out which measures it means. Iran's clerical establishment has said it will not return to strict observance of the 2015 agreement unless all sanctions reimposed or added by former President Donald Trump after he ditched the accord in 2018 are rescinded first. Diplomats say sequenced steps by each side may offer a solution, while Iranian officials said the high-stakes talks in Vienna might yield an interim deal to give space to diplomacy on a lasting settlement. "The May deadline is approaching...What is being discussed in Vienna for the near term is the main outlines of an interim deal to give all sides more time to resolve complicated technical issues," said an Iranian official. He referred to a law passed by Iran's hardline-dominated parliament that obliges the government to harden its nuclear stance if sanctions are not lifted. The law mandated an end to short-notice UN nuclear inspections from February 21, but Tehran and the IAEA agreed to keep up ‘necessary' monitoring for up to three months. Another Iranian official said that if a political agreement was reached on technical steps to remove all sanctions, Tehran might suspend enrichment to 20% purity in return for a release of blocked Iranian funds in other countries. Iran says $20 billion of its oil revenue has been frozen in countries like South Korea, Iraq and China under the US sanctions regime since 2018. (With inputs from agencies)

Nuclear talks make some progress, interim deal possible, say Iranian officials 

The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on members of Myanmar's junta, who took control of the country in a February 1 coup, as well as its new information minister and two conglomerates controlled by the military.&nbsp;

In its firmest response yet to the ousting of an elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the EU said nine members of the junta's State Administration Council, formed the day after the coup, had been targeted with travel bans and asset freezes. So was information minister U Chit Naing.&nbsp;

The decision, first reported on March 8 and April 15, puts the leaders of the junta and their top administrators under sanctions and follows similar measures by the United States. Myanmar Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing and Myint Swe, who has been acting president since the coup, were blacklisted by the EU last month.&nbsp;

Myanmar's State Administration Council was 'responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law', the EU said in its Official Journal.&nbsp;

"The military forces and authorities operating under the control of the SAC have committed serious human rights violations since February 1, 2021, killing civilian and unarmed protesters," the EU said.&nbsp;

The EU also moved to target two companies that generate revenue for the Myanmar Armed Forces, a robust step following on from sanctions on 11 senior military officials, including the commander in chief, last month. The EU has an arms embargo on Myanmar.&nbsp;

Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) were targeted with sanctions on Monday, barring EU investors and banks from doing business with them. Human rights groups had called for them to be sanctioned.&nbsp;

"MEHL and its subsidiaries generate revenue (for the military), therefore contributing to its capabilities to carry out activities undermining democracy and the rule of law and to serious human rights violations in Myanmar," the EU said. It made the same charges against MEC.&nbsp;

The conglomerates are spread throughout the economy from mining and manufacturing to food and beverages to hotels, telecoms and banking. They rank among the country's biggest taxpayers and sought partnerships with foreign companies as Myanmar opened up during the democratic liberalisation.&nbsp;

Like several Western powers, the EU has condemned the coup and called for the restoration of civilian rule.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on members of Myanmar's junta, who took control of the country in a February 1 coup, as well as its new information minister and two conglomerates controlled by the military.

The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on members of Myanmar's junta, who took control of the country in a February 1 coup, as well as its new information minister and two conglomerates controlled by the military. In its firmest response yet to the ousting of an elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the EU said nine members of the junta's State Administration Council, formed the day after the coup, had been targeted with travel bans and asset freezes. So was information minister U Chit Naing. The decision, first reported on March 8 and April 15, puts the leaders of the junta and their top administrators under sanctions and follows similar measures by the United States. Myanmar Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing and Myint Swe, who has been acting president since the coup, were blacklisted by the EU last month. Myanmar's State Administration Council was 'responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law', the EU said in its Official Journal. "The military forces and authorities operating under the control of the SAC have committed serious human rights violations since February 1, 2021, killing civilian and unarmed protesters," the EU said. The EU also moved to target two companies that generate revenue for the Myanmar Armed Forces, a robust step following on from sanctions on 11 senior military officials, including the commander in chief, last month. The EU has an arms embargo on Myanmar. Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) were targeted with sanctions on Monday, barring EU investors and banks from doing business with them. Human rights groups had called for them to be sanctioned. "MEHL and its subsidiaries generate revenue (for the military), therefore contributing to its capabilities to carry out activities undermining democracy and the rule of law and to serious human rights violations in Myanmar," the EU said. It made the same charges against MEC. The conglomerates are spread throughout the economy from mining and manufacturing to food and beverages to hotels, telecoms and banking. They rank among the country's biggest taxpayers and sought partnerships with foreign companies as Myanmar opened up during the democratic liberalisation. Like several Western powers, the EU has condemned the coup and called for the restoration of civilian rule. (With inputs from agencies)

EU hits Myanmar junta members, two military companies with sanctions 

In less than nine months, an assassin on a motorbike fatally shot an al-Qaida commander given refuge in Tehran, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist was machine-gunned on a country road, and two separate, mysterious explosions rocked a key Iranian nuclear facility in the desert, striking the heart of the country’s efforts to enrich uranium.

The steady drumbeat of attacks, which intelligence officials said were carried out by Israel, highlighted the seeming ease with which Israeli intelligence was able to reach deep inside Iran’s borders and repeatedly strike its most heavily guarded targets, often with the help of turncoat Iranians.

The attacks, the latest wave in more than two decades of sabotage and assassinations, have exposed embarrassing security lapses and left Iran’s leaders looking over their shoulders as they pursue negotiations with the Biden administration aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement.

The recriminations have been caustic.

The head of parliament’s strategic center said Iran had turned into a “haven for spies.” The former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard called for an overhaul of the country’s security and intelligence apparatus. Lawmakers have demanded the resignation of top security and intelligence officials.

Most alarming for Iran, Iranian officials and analysts said, was that the attacks revealed that Israel had an effective network of collaborators inside Iran and that Iran’s intelligence services had failed to find the moles.

“That the Israelis are effectively able to hit Iran inside in such a brazen way is hugely embarrassing and demonstrates a weakness that I think plays poorly inside Iran,” said Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House.

The attacks have also cast a cloud of paranoia over a country that now sees foreign plots in every mishap.

Over the weekend, Iranian state television flashed a photograph of a man said to be Reza Karimi, 43, and accused him of being the “perpetrator of sabotage” in an explosion at the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant last month. But it was unclear who he was, whether he had acted alone and if that was even his real name. In any case, he had fled the country before the blast, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said.

On Monday, after Iranian state news media reported that Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, the deputy commander of the Quds Force, the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guard, had died of heart disease, there were immediate suspicions of foul play.

Hejazi had long been a target of Israeli espionage, and the son of another prominent Quds Force commander insisted on Twitter that Hejazi’s death was “not cardiac-related.”

A Revolutionary Guard spokesman failed to clear the air with a statement saying the general had died of the combined effects of “extremely difficult assignments,” a recent COVID-19 infection and exposure to chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war.

The general would have been the third high-ranking Iranian military official to be assassinated in the last 15 months. The United States killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force, in January 2020. Israel assassinated Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist and a brigadier general in the Revolutionary Guard, in November.

Even if Hejazi died of natural causes, the cumulative loss of three top generals was a significant blow.

The attacks represent an uptick in a long-running campaign by the intelligence services of Israel and the United States to subvert what they consider to be Iran’s threatening activities.

Chief among them are a nuclear program that Iran insists is peaceful, Iran’s investment in proxy militias across the Arab world, and its development of precision-guided missiles for Hezbollah, the militant movement in Lebanon.

An Israeli military intelligence document in 2019 said that Hejazi was a leading figure in the last two, as the commander of the Lebanese corps of the Quds Force and the leader of the guided missile project. Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ramezan Sharif said that Israel wanted to assassinate Hejazi.

Israel has been working to derail Iran’s nuclear program, which it considers a mortal threat, since it began. Israel is believed to have started assassinating key figures in the program in 2007, when a nuclear scientist at a uranium plant in Isfahan died in a mysterious gas leak.

In the years since, six other scientists and military officials said to be critical to Iran’s nuclear efforts have been assassinated. A seventh was wounded.

Another top Quds Force commander, Rostam Ghasemi, said recently that he had narrowly escaped an Israeli assassination attempt during a visit to Lebanon in March.

But assassination is just one tool in a campaign that operates on multiple levels and fronts.

In 2018, Israel carried out a daring nighttime raid to steal a half-ton of secret archives of Iran’s nuclear program from a warehouse in Tehran.

Israel has also reached around the world, tracking down equipment in other countries that is bound for Iran to destroy it, conceal transponders in its packaging or install explosive devices to be detonated after the gear has been installed inside of Iran, according to a former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official.

A former Israeli intelligence operative said that to compromise such equipment, she and another officer would drive by the factory and stage a crisis, such as a car accident or a heart attack, and the woman would appeal to the guards for help. That would get her enough access to the facility to identify its security system so that another team could break in and disable it, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss covert operations.

In an interview on Iranian state television last week, Iran’s former nuclear chief revealed the origins of an explosion in the Natanz nuclear plant in July. The explosives had been sealed inside a heavy desk that had been placed in the plant months earlier, said Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, the former chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

The explosion ripped through a factory producing a new generation of centrifuges, setting back Iran’s nuclear enrichment program by months, officials said.

Alireza Zakani, head of parliament’s research center, said Tuesday that in another case machinery from a nuclear site had been sent abroad for repair and was returned to Iran with 300 pounds of explosives packed inside it.

Little is known about the more recent explosion at Natanz this month except that it destroyed the plant’s independent power system, which in turn destroyed thousands of centrifuges.

It would have been difficult for Israel to carry out these operations without inside help from Iranians, and that may be what rankles Iran most.

Security officials in Iran have prosecuted several Iranian citizens over the past decade, charging them with complicity in Israeli sabotage and assassination operations. The penalty is execution.

But the infiltrations have also sullied the reputation of the intelligence wing of the Revolutionary Guard, which is responsible for guarding nuclear sites and scientists.

A former Guard commander demanded a “cleansing” of the intelligence service, and Iran’s vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, said that the unit responsible for security at Natanz should be “be held accountable for its failures.”

The deputy head of parliament, Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, told the Iranian news media on Monday that it was no longer enough to blame Israel and the United States for such attacks. Iran needed to clean its own house.

As a publication affiliated with the Guard, Mashregh News, put it last week: “Why does the security of the nuclear facility act so irresponsibly that it gets hit twice from the same hole?”

But the Revolutionary Guard answers only to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and so far there has been no sign of a top-down reshuffling.

After each attack, Iran has struggled to respond, sometimes claiming to have identified those responsible only after they had left the country or saying that they remained at large. Iranian officials also insist that they have foiled other attacks.

Calls for retaliation grow louder after each attack. Conservatives have accused the government of President Hassan Rouhani of weakness or of subjugating the country’s security to the nuclear talks in hopes they will lead to relief from U.S. sanctions.

Indeed, Iranian officials shifted to what they called “strategic patience” in the last year of the Trump administration, calculating that Israel sought to goad them into an open conflict that would eliminate the possibility of negotiations with a new Democratic administration.

Both Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have said they would not allow the attacks to derail the negotiations because lifting sanctions was the priority.

It is also possible that Iran has tried to retaliate but failed.

Iran was blamed for a bomb that exploded near Israel’s Embassy in New Delhi in January, and 15 militants linked to Iran were arrested last month in Ethiopia for plotting to attack Israeli, American and Emirati targets.

But any overt retaliation risks an overwhelming Israeli response.

“They are not in a hurry to start a war,” said Talal Atrissi, a political science professor at the Lebanese University in Beirut. “Retaliation means war.”

Conversely, the timing of Israel’s latest attack on Natanz suggested that Israel sought if not to derail the talks, to at least weaken Iran’s bargaining power. Israel opposed the 2015 nuclear agreement and opposes its resurrection.

The United States, seeking to negotiate with Iran in Vienna, said it was not involved in the attack but has not publicly criticized it either.

And if the repeated Israeli attacks had the effect of fomenting a national paranoia, an intelligence official said, that was a side benefit for Israel. The additional steps Iran has taken to scan buildings for surveillance devices and plumb employees’ backgrounds to root out potential spies has slowed down the enrichment work, the official said.

The conventional wisdom is that neither side wants full-scale war and is counting on the other not to escalate. But at the same time, the covert, regionwide shadow war between Israel and Iran has intensified with Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Syria and tit for tat attacks on ships.

But as Iran faces a struggling economy, rampant COVID-19 infections and other problems of poor governance, the pressure is on to reach a new agreement soon to remove economic sanctions, said Vakil of Chatham House.

“These low-level, gray zone attacks reveal that the Islamic Republic urgently needs to get the JCPOA back into a box” to free up resources to address its other problems, she said, referring to the nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

In less than nine months, an assassin on a motorbike fatally shot an al-Qaida commander given refuge in Tehran, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist was machine-gunned on a country road, and two separate, mysterious explosions rocked a key Iranian nuclear facility in the desert, striking the heart of the country’s efforts to enrich uranium.

In less than nine months, an assassin on a motorbike fatally shot an al-Qaida commander given refuge in Tehran, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist was machine-gunned on a country road, and two separate, mysterious explosions rocked a key Iranian nuclear facility in the desert, striking the heart of the country’s efforts to enrich uranium. The steady drumbeat of attacks, which intelligence officials said were carried out by Israel, highlighted the seeming ease with which Israeli intelligence was able to reach deep inside Iran’s borders and repeatedly strike its most heavily guarded targets, often with the help of turncoat Iranians. The attacks, the latest wave in more than two decades of sabotage and assassinations, have exposed embarrassing security lapses and left Iran’s leaders looking over their shoulders as they pursue negotiations with the Biden administration aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement. The recriminations have been caustic. The head of parliament’s strategic center said Iran had turned into a “haven for spies.” The former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard called for an overhaul of the country’s security and intelligence apparatus. Lawmakers have demanded the resignation of top security and intelligence officials. Most alarming for Iran, Iranian officials and analysts said, was that the attacks revealed that Israel had an effective network of collaborators inside Iran and that Iran’s intelligence services had failed to find the moles. “That the Israelis are effectively able to hit Iran inside in such a brazen way is hugely embarrassing and demonstrates a weakness that I think plays poorly inside Iran,” said Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House. The attacks have also cast a cloud of paranoia over a country that now sees foreign plots in every mishap. Over the weekend, Iranian state television flashed a photograph of a man said to be Reza Karimi, 43, and accused him of being the “perpetrator of sabotage” in an explosion at the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant last month. But it was unclear who he was, whether he had acted alone and if that was even his real name. In any case, he had fled the country before the blast, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said. On Monday, after Iranian state news media reported that Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, the deputy commander of the Quds Force, the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guard, had died of heart disease, there were immediate suspicions of foul play. Hejazi had long been a target of Israeli espionage, and the son of another prominent Quds Force commander insisted on Twitter that Hejazi’s death was “not cardiac-related.” A Revolutionary Guard spokesman failed to clear the air with a statement saying the general had died of the combined effects of “extremely difficult assignments,” a recent COVID-19 infection and exposure to chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. The general would have been the third high-ranking Iranian military official to be assassinated in the last 15 months. The United States killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force, in January 2020. Israel assassinated Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist and a brigadier general in the Revolutionary Guard, in November. Even if Hejazi died of natural causes, the cumulative loss of three top generals was a significant blow. The attacks represent an uptick in a long-running campaign by the intelligence services of Israel and the United States to subvert what they consider to be Iran’s threatening activities. Chief among them are a nuclear program that Iran insists is peaceful, Iran’s investment in proxy militias across the Arab world, and its development of precision-guided missiles for Hezbollah, the militant movement in Lebanon. An Israeli military intelligence document in 2019 said that Hejazi was a leading figure in the last two, as the commander of the Lebanese corps of the Quds Force and the leader of the guided missile project. Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ramezan Sharif said that Israel wanted to assassinate Hejazi. Israel has been working to derail Iran’s nuclear program, which it considers a mortal threat, since it began. Israel is believed to have started assassinating key figures in the program in 2007, when a nuclear scientist at a uranium plant in Isfahan died in a mysterious gas leak. In the years since, six other scientists and military officials said to be critical to Iran’s nuclear efforts have been assassinated. A seventh was wounded. Another top Quds Force commander, Rostam Ghasemi, said recently that he had narrowly escaped an Israeli assassination attempt during a visit to Lebanon in March. But assassination is just one tool in a campaign that operates on multiple levels and fronts. In 2018, Israel carried out a daring nighttime raid to steal a half-ton of secret archives of Iran’s nuclear program from a warehouse in Tehran. Israel has also reached around the world, tracking down equipment in other countries that is bound for Iran to destroy it, conceal transponders in its packaging or install explosive devices to be detonated after the gear has been installed inside of Iran, according to a former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official. A former Israeli intelligence operative said that to compromise such equipment, she and another officer would drive by the factory and stage a crisis, such as a car accident or a heart attack, and the woman would appeal to the guards for help. That would get her enough access to the facility to identify its security system so that another team could break in and disable it, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss covert operations. In an interview on Iranian state television last week, Iran’s former nuclear chief revealed the origins of an explosion in the Natanz nuclear plant in July. The explosives had been sealed inside a heavy desk that had been placed in the plant months earlier, said Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, the former chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. The explosion ripped through a factory producing a new generation of centrifuges, setting back Iran’s nuclear enrichment program by months, officials said. Alireza Zakani, head of parliament’s research center, said Tuesday that in another case machinery from a nuclear site had been sent abroad for repair and was returned to Iran with 300 pounds of explosives packed inside it. Little is known about the more recent explosion at Natanz this month except that it destroyed the plant’s independent power system, which in turn destroyed thousands of centrifuges. It would have been difficult for Israel to carry out these operations without inside help from Iranians, and that may be what rankles Iran most. Security officials in Iran have prosecuted several Iranian citizens over the past decade, charging them with complicity in Israeli sabotage and assassination operations. The penalty is execution. But the infiltrations have also sullied the reputation of the intelligence wing of the Revolutionary Guard, which is responsible for guarding nuclear sites and scientists. A former Guard commander demanded a “cleansing” of the intelligence service, and Iran’s vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, said that the unit responsible for security at Natanz should be “be held accountable for its failures.” The deputy head of parliament, Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, told the Iranian news media on Monday that it was no longer enough to blame Israel and the United States for such attacks. Iran needed to clean its own house. As a publication affiliated with the Guard, Mashregh News, put it last week: “Why does the security of the nuclear facility act so irresponsibly that it gets hit twice from the same hole?” But the Revolutionary Guard answers only to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and so far there has been no sign of a top-down reshuffling. After each attack, Iran has struggled to respond, sometimes claiming to have identified those responsible only after they had left the country or saying that they remained at large. Iranian officials also insist that they have foiled other attacks. Calls for retaliation grow louder after each attack. Conservatives have accused the government of President Hassan Rouhani of weakness or of subjugating the country’s security to the nuclear talks in hopes they will lead to relief from U.S. sanctions. Indeed, Iranian officials shifted to what they called “strategic patience” in the last year of the Trump administration, calculating that Israel sought to goad them into an open conflict that would eliminate the possibility of negotiations with a new Democratic administration. Both Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have said they would not allow the attacks to derail the negotiations because lifting sanctions was the priority. It is also possible that Iran has tried to retaliate but failed. Iran was blamed for a bomb that exploded near Israel’s Embassy in New Delhi in January, and 15 militants linked to Iran were arrested last month in Ethiopia for plotting to attack Israeli, American and Emirati targets. But any overt retaliation risks an overwhelming Israeli response. “They are not in a hurry to start a war,” said Talal Atrissi, a political science professor at the Lebanese University in Beirut. “Retaliation means war.” Conversely, the timing of Israel’s latest attack on Natanz suggested that Israel sought if not to derail the talks, to at least weaken Iran’s bargaining power. Israel opposed the 2015 nuclear agreement and opposes its resurrection. The United States, seeking to negotiate with Iran in Vienna, said it was not involved in the attack but has not publicly criticized it either. And if the repeated Israeli attacks had the effect of fomenting a national paranoia, an intelligence official said, that was a side benefit for Israel. The additional steps Iran has taken to scan buildings for surveillance devices and plumb employees’ backgrounds to root out potential spies has slowed down the enrichment work, the official said. The conventional wisdom is that neither side wants full-scale war and is counting on the other not to escalate. But at the same time, the covert, regionwide shadow war between Israel and Iran has intensified with Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Syria and tit for tat attacks on ships. But as Iran faces a struggling economy, rampant COVID-19 infections and other problems of poor governance, the pressure is on to reach a new agreement soon to remove economic sanctions, said Vakil of Chatham House. “These low-level, gray zone attacks reveal that the Islamic Republic urgently needs to get the JCPOA back into a box” to free up resources to address its other problems, she said, referring to the nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Iran rattled as Israel repeatedly strikes key targets

Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency in the southern part of Amhara regional state as violence breaks out in various towns.&nbsp;

Last three days saw deadly armed violence in the town of Ataye and several other areas in Oromia special zones, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.&nbsp;

Ethiopia's military was deploying troops to quell violence between the country's two largest ethnic groups that have left hundreds dead in recent weeks.&nbsp;

The decision underscores persistent insecurity extending beyond Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray region ahead of national elections planned for June.&nbsp;

"A command post has been established in relation to the security problem that has occurred in North Shoa zone and Oromo special zone of Amhara regional state," the military said in a statement. &nbsp;

"The command post will help ensure the supremacy of the law on destructive forces that are disturbing the peace in these areas."&nbsp;

The Amhara region is dominated by the ethnic Amhara group, Ethiopia's second-largest, but the Oromo special zone is populated mainly by Oromos, the numerically dominant group.&nbsp;

Ethiopia's chief ombudsman, Endale Haile, said earlier this month that the violence in Amhara had killed more than 300 people over several days in March.&nbsp;

Jemal Hassen Mohammed, chief administrator of the Jile-Temuga area in the Oromo special zone, said it began March 19 after an ethnic Oromo imam was shot dead outside a mosque, sparking clashes between Amhara security forces and ethnic Oromo civilians.&nbsp;

The Amhara Association of America, a US-based lobbying group, said more than 100 ethnic Amharas had been killed in North Shoa zone by members of the Oromo Liberation Army rebel group.&nbsp;

Further violence has been reported in the area as recently as this weekend, though updated casualty information was not available on Sunday. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency in the southern part of Amhara regional state as violence breaks out in various towns. Last three days saw deadly armed violence in the town of Ataye and several other areas in Oromia special zones, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency in the southern part of Amhara regional state as violence breaks out in various towns. Last three days saw deadly armed violence in the town of Ataye and several other areas in Oromia special zones, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday. Ethiopia's military was deploying troops to quell violence between the country's two largest ethnic groups that have left hundreds dead in recent weeks. The decision underscores persistent insecurity extending beyond Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray region ahead of national elections planned for June. "A command post has been established in relation to the security problem that has occurred in North Shoa zone and Oromo special zone of Amhara regional state," the military said in a statement. "The command post will help ensure the supremacy of the law on destructive forces that are disturbing the peace in these areas." The Amhara region is dominated by the ethnic Amhara group, Ethiopia's second-largest, but the Oromo special zone is populated mainly by Oromos, the numerically dominant group. Ethiopia's chief ombudsman, Endale Haile, said earlier this month that the violence in Amhara had killed more than 300 people over several days in March. Jemal Hassen Mohammed, chief administrator of the Jile-Temuga area in the Oromo special zone, said it began March 19 after an ethnic Oromo imam was shot dead outside a mosque, sparking clashes between Amhara security forces and ethnic Oromo civilians. The Amhara Association of America, a US-based lobbying group, said more than 100 ethnic Amharas had been killed in North Shoa zone by members of the Oromo Liberation Army rebel group. Further violence has been reported in the area as recently as this weekend, though updated casualty information was not available on Sunday. (With inputs from agencies)

Ethiopia declares state of emergency in Amhara, deploys troops to quell ethnic violence 

Hundreds of hardline Islamists have been arrested by Bangladesh police over the past week, officials said on Sunday, after deadly protests against the visit of India's leader.&nbsp;

At least 13 protesters died during the days-long demonstrations in late March over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.&nbsp;

The protests across several districts in Bangladesh were mostly led by the hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam.&nbsp;

Police said Mamunul Haque, 47, the firebrand joint secretary of Hefazat, was detained on Sunday after a top Islamic seminary in the capital Dhaka was raided.&nbsp;

"He was arrested over charges of violence by Hefazat-e-Islam," police spokesman Ifetkharul Islam said.&nbsp;

Haque was the seventh senior leader from Hefazat to be arrested this week, police said.&nbsp;

The leaders were expected to be charged with the outbreak of violence during the anti-Modi protests and demonstrations in 2013 that left nearly 50 people dead.&nbsp;

A further 298 Hefazat supporters and activists were arrested in the eastern rural district of Brahmanbaria where anti-Modi demonstrations were also held, police said on Sunday.&nbsp;

"We arrested them by identifying them through video footage," Brahmanbaria police's deputy chief, Mohammad Roish Uddin, said. &nbsp;

Hefazat spokesman Jakaria Noman Foyezi said that 23 leaders of his organisation had been detained by police.&nbsp;

He called police claims against them 'false and fabricated'.&nbsp;

Hefazat, which was found in 2010, is Bangladesh's largest hardline Islamist outfit.&nbsp;

The group draws its support from millions of students and teachers in thousands of the Muslim-majority madrasas. &nbsp;

A 2013 rally in Dhaka by thousands of Hefazat supporters demanding a blasphemy law ended in unrest and dozens of deaths.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Hundreds of hardline Islamists have been arrested by Bangladesh police over the past week, officials said on Sunday, after deadly protests against the visit of India's leader.

Hundreds of hardline Islamists have been arrested by Bangladesh police over the past week, officials said on Sunday, after deadly protests against the visit of India's leader. At least 13 protesters died during the days-long demonstrations in late March over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. The protests across several districts in Bangladesh were mostly led by the hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam. Police said Mamunul Haque, 47, the firebrand joint secretary of Hefazat, was detained on Sunday after a top Islamic seminary in the capital Dhaka was raided. "He was arrested over charges of violence by Hefazat-e-Islam," police spokesman Ifetkharul Islam said. Haque was the seventh senior leader from Hefazat to be arrested this week, police said. The leaders were expected to be charged with the outbreak of violence during the anti-Modi protests and demonstrations in 2013 that left nearly 50 people dead. A further 298 Hefazat supporters and activists were arrested in the eastern rural district of Brahmanbaria where anti-Modi demonstrations were also held, police said on Sunday. "We arrested them by identifying them through video footage," Brahmanbaria police's deputy chief, Mohammad Roish Uddin, said. Hefazat spokesman Jakaria Noman Foyezi said that 23 leaders of his organisation had been detained by police. He called police claims against them 'false and fabricated'. Hefazat, which was found in 2010, is Bangladesh's largest hardline Islamist outfit. The group draws its support from millions of students and teachers in thousands of the Muslim-majority madrasas. A 2013 rally in Dhaka by thousands of Hefazat supporters demanding a blasphemy law ended in unrest and dozens of deaths. (With inputs from agencies)

Bangladesh cracks down on Islamist hardliners after protests against Indian PM 

Baseball is back across California. Tickets to see Bad Bunny early next year were snatched up in no time. The Musso &amp;amp; Frank Grill — the iconic, very much indoors Hollywood haunt — has announced it will reopen May 6.

That’s all been possible, officials and experts say, because increasing numbers of Californians are vaccinated.

And although the biggest hurdle for the state’s vaccine campaign has been a limited supply of doses, that’s changing quickly, officials say.

As of Monday, 1 in 4 Californians was fully inoculated and more than 40% of Californians have received at least one shot. All adults 16 and older are eligible to be vaccinated.

Many businesses have been allowed to reopen — but some can open at higher capacity if they require proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test. The state is also allowing larger groups to gather, if everyone is tested or fully vaccinated.

So how does one quickly and consistently prove they have been vaccinated? One option is what has come to be known as a “vaccine passport.”

Here’s what you need to know about what that would mean in California:

What is a vaccine passport?

Mostly, the term has been used to describe a digital certificate of vaccination.

Think of the boarding pass you would show on your phone to get through airport security, or of a digital concert ticket with a QR code.

You should receive a paper vaccination card when you get your first dose, but, of course, any kind of paper document is vulnerable.

Still, experts say that the term “passport” is misleading. It is actually more like vaccine verification — something that has long existed in various contexts and forms. (Schools and summer camps, for instance, often require children to be inoculated against certain diseases.)

“We’re not calling it a passport, because that implies it’s a government-issued document,” Dr. Christopher Longhurst, UC San Diego Health’s chief information officer, told me. “That’s not what we’re talking about.”

Why is there a debate over the use of vaccine passports?

As with most things that involve health data, there are concerns about privacy. And as with everything that involves sorting people into groups of haves and have-nots, there are questions about fairness and ethics.

There are wide disparities in vaccination rates among countries, and vaccine passports could make international travel much easier for residents of wealthy countries.

In the United States, conservative politicians have turned “vaccine passports” into a political and cultural flash point, arguing that they infringe on Americans’ freedom. Some states, like Texas, have barred organizations receiving state money from requiring vaccine credentials.

The White House has said the federal government will not support “a system that requires Americans to carry a credential.”

But legal experts have said that businesses like airlines, concert venues or warehouse operators are within their rights to require employees or customers to do things in the interest of public health. Many businesses have said they want to be able to assure customers that their fellow patrons are inoculated in order to coax them back.

Michael Jerrett, a professor of environmental health science at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told me that as long as there is “equal access” to vaccines themselves, vaccine verification could be used to help prevent workplace outbreaks in the future.

Will I need a vaccine passport if I live in California?

Not exactly. As The Los Angeles Times reported, the state is effectively encouraging venues to require proof of vaccination, as they are allowed to bring in more people if they do.

But state officials have emphasized they will not require them.

So, Longhurst said, the state has effectively “tossed the ball” to private companies.

UC San Diego Health is partnering with the Vaccine Credential Initiative in an effort to ensure that whatever digital vaccine verification is required, there is an “open standard” that is consistent and secure no matter where you go.

“The worst-case scenario is that venues and stadiums all have a different approach,” he said.

Longhurst added that a collaborative, open approach could also prevent a single private company from becoming the sole provider of vaccine verification services, as has been the case for New York, which became the first state to launch a digital health certificate called the Excelsior Pass.

A Republican state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would block state or other government agencies from enacting digital health documentation policies, according to The Sacramento Bee — but the effort is unlikely to go far.

Baseball is back across California. Tickets to see Bad Bunny early next year were snatched up in no time. The Musso &amp; Frank Grill — the iconic, very much indoors Hollywood haunt — has announced it will reopen May 6.

Baseball is back across California. Tickets to see Bad Bunny early next year were snatched up in no time. The Musso &amp; Frank Grill — the iconic, very much indoors Hollywood haunt — has announced it will reopen May 6. That’s all been possible, officials and experts say, because increasing numbers of Californians are vaccinated. And although the biggest hurdle for the state’s vaccine campaign has been a limited supply of doses, that’s changing quickly, officials say. As of Monday, 1 in 4 Californians was fully inoculated and more than 40% of Californians have received at least one shot. All adults 16 and older are eligible to be vaccinated. Many businesses have been allowed to reopen — but some can open at higher capacity if they require proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test. The state is also allowing larger groups to gather, if everyone is tested or fully vaccinated. So how does one quickly and consistently prove they have been vaccinated? One option is what has come to be known as a “vaccine passport.” Here’s what you need to know about what that would mean in California: What is a vaccine passport? Mostly, the term has been used to describe a digital certificate of vaccination. Think of the boarding pass you would show on your phone to get through airport security, or of a digital concert ticket with a QR code. You should receive a paper vaccination card when you get your first dose, but, of course, any kind of paper document is vulnerable. Still, experts say that the term “passport” is misleading. It is actually more like vaccine verification — something that has long existed in various contexts and forms. (Schools and summer camps, for instance, often require children to be inoculated against certain diseases.) “We’re not calling it a passport, because that implies it’s a government-issued document,” Dr. Christopher Longhurst, UC San Diego Health’s chief information officer, told me. “That’s not what we’re talking about.” Why is there a debate over the use of vaccine passports? As with most things that involve health data, there are concerns about privacy. And as with everything that involves sorting people into groups of haves and have-nots, there are questions about fairness and ethics. There are wide disparities in vaccination rates among countries, and vaccine passports could make international travel much easier for residents of wealthy countries. In the United States, conservative politicians have turned “vaccine passports” into a political and cultural flash point, arguing that they infringe on Americans’ freedom. Some states, like Texas, have barred organizations receiving state money from requiring vaccine credentials. The White House has said the federal government will not support “a system that requires Americans to carry a credential.” But legal experts have said that businesses like airlines, concert venues or warehouse operators are within their rights to require employees or customers to do things in the interest of public health. Many businesses have said they want to be able to assure customers that their fellow patrons are inoculated in order to coax them back. Michael Jerrett, a professor of environmental health science at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told me that as long as there is “equal access” to vaccines themselves, vaccine verification could be used to help prevent workplace outbreaks in the future. Will I need a vaccine passport if I live in California? Not exactly. As The Los Angeles Times reported, the state is effectively encouraging venues to require proof of vaccination, as they are allowed to bring in more people if they do. But state officials have emphasized they will not require them. So, Longhurst said, the state has effectively “tossed the ball” to private companies. UC San Diego Health is partnering with the Vaccine Credential Initiative in an effort to ensure that whatever digital vaccine verification is required, there is an “open standard” that is consistent and secure no matter where you go. “The worst-case scenario is that venues and stadiums all have a different approach,” he said. Longhurst added that a collaborative, open approach could also prevent a single private company from becoming the sole provider of vaccine verification services, as has been the case for New York, which became the first state to launch a digital health certificate called the Excelsior Pass. A Republican state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would block state or other government agencies from enacting digital health documentation policies, according to The Sacramento Bee — but the effort is unlikely to go far.

Will you need a vaccine passport in California?

The annual report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday that journalism was at least partly blocked in nearly three-quarters of the 180 countries surveyed. &nbsp;

Its World Press Freedom Index found 73 countries 'totally blocked or seriously impeded' journalism, while it was 'constrained' in 59 others, adding that many governments had used the pandemic to worsen repression. &nbsp;

"Journalism is the best vaccine against disinformation," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement. &nbsp;

"Unfortunately, its production and distribution are too often blocked by political, economic, technological and, sometimes, even cultural factors."&nbsp;

Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, China and Djibouti fared worst overall in this year's RSF ranking. &nbsp;

Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Costa Rica were ranked highest. &nbsp;

The Middle East and North Africa region continues to be the most repressive for journalists, the report found, highlighting the worsening situation in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria over the past year. &nbsp;

"In this region, still the toughest and most dangerous for journalists, the pandemic has exacerbated the problems that have long plagued the press, which was already in its death throes," it said. &nbsp;

Malaysia recorded the worst deterioration, down 18 places in the ranking to 119, due in part to a recent 'anti-fake news' law "allowing the government to impose its own version of the truth".&nbsp;

RSF said the global level of media freedom remained largely stable overall for the past year, but noted that the figures had deteriorated by 12 per cent since the ranking was first launched in 2013. &nbsp;

Part of the problem is falling trust in journalists, fuelled by political polarisation and online misinformation. &nbsp;

RSF noted a recent survey by the Edelman Trust that found 59 per cent of respondents across 28 countries believed journalists deliberately misled the public. &nbsp;

The World Press Freedom Index is based on questionnaires sent to experts around the world, combined with data on abuse and acts of violence against journalists to form a picture that includes pluralism, media independence, self-censorship and other factors.&nbsp;

The annual report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday that journalism was at least partly blocked in nearly three-quarters of the 180 countries surveyed.

The annual report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday that journalism was at least partly blocked in nearly three-quarters of the 180 countries surveyed. Its World Press Freedom Index found 73 countries 'totally blocked or seriously impeded' journalism, while it was 'constrained' in 59 others, adding that many governments had used the pandemic to worsen repression. "Journalism is the best vaccine against disinformation," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement. "Unfortunately, its production and distribution are too often blocked by political, economic, technological and, sometimes, even cultural factors." Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, China and Djibouti fared worst overall in this year's RSF ranking. Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Costa Rica were ranked highest. The Middle East and North Africa region continues to be the most repressive for journalists, the report found, highlighting the worsening situation in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria over the past year. "In this region, still the toughest and most dangerous for journalists, the pandemic has exacerbated the problems that have long plagued the press, which was already in its death throes," it said. Malaysia recorded the worst deterioration, down 18 places in the ranking to 119, due in part to a recent 'anti-fake news' law "allowing the government to impose its own version of the truth". RSF said the global level of media freedom remained largely stable overall for the past year, but noted that the figures had deteriorated by 12 per cent since the ranking was first launched in 2013. Part of the problem is falling trust in journalists, fuelled by political polarisation and online misinformation. RSF noted a recent survey by the Edelman Trust that found 59 per cent of respondents across 28 countries believed journalists deliberately misled the public. The World Press Freedom Index is based on questionnaires sent to experts around the world, combined with data on abuse and acts of violence against journalists to form a picture that includes pluralism, media independence, self-censorship and other factors.

Freedom index finds journalism blocked in 130+ countries 

Pakistan on Monday urged the Taliban to remain engaged in the Afghan peace process after the armed group said it would now shun summits about Afghanistan until all foreign forces leave.&nbsp;

The decision was taken after the United States said last week it would withdraw all troops by September 11 this year, later than a May 1 deadline set out by the previous administration.&nbsp;

"They take their own decisions but we will do whatever we can to convince them that it is in their national interest to remain engaged," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said of the Taliban in an interview with Reuters in Abu Dhabi.&nbsp;

The refusal has thrown the peace process into disarray with Turkey scheduled for Saturday to host a summit that diplomats had hoped could create new momentum towards a political settlement between the Taliban and Afghan government.&nbsp;

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 when they were ousted by US-led forces, but they still control wide areas.&nbsp;

Qureshi said withdrawal delays were always a possibility due to logistics but that the Taliban had largely succeeded in their objective for foreign troops to withdraw and so should show flexibility towards the new September 11 deadline.&nbsp;

"The troops will be out and a date has been given and the process starts on the 1st of May and goes on until the 11th of September so there is a definite time frame," Qureshi said.&nbsp;

Sources have told Reuters, Pakistan was putting pressure on the militants to come back to the table.&nbsp;

Qureshi said he believed the Taliban would benefit from staying involved but said, he had no contact with the group.&nbsp;

Pakistan, which helped facilitate US-Taliban negotiations in Doha that resulted in the initial May 1 withdrawal deal, wields considerable influence with the Taliban.&nbsp;

The insurgents have sanctuaries in Pakistan, whose main military-run intelligence service gives them support, according to US and Afghan officials. Pakistan denies the allegation.&nbsp;

Qureshi said he feared violence could escalate if the peace process remains deadlocked, plunging Afghanistan into civil war and leading to an exodus of Afghans. &nbsp;

Pakistan on Monday urged the Taliban to remain engaged in the Afghan peace process after the armed group said it would now shun summits about Afghanistan until all foreign forces leave.

Pakistan on Monday urged the Taliban to remain engaged in the Afghan peace process after the armed group said it would now shun summits about Afghanistan until all foreign forces leave. The decision was taken after the United States said last week it would withdraw all troops by September 11 this year, later than a May 1 deadline set out by the previous administration. "They take their own decisions but we will do whatever we can to convince them that it is in their national interest to remain engaged," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said of the Taliban in an interview with Reuters in Abu Dhabi. The refusal has thrown the peace process into disarray with Turkey scheduled for Saturday to host a summit that diplomats had hoped could create new momentum towards a political settlement between the Taliban and Afghan government. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 when they were ousted by US-led forces, but they still control wide areas. Qureshi said withdrawal delays were always a possibility due to logistics but that the Taliban had largely succeeded in their objective for foreign troops to withdraw and so should show flexibility towards the new September 11 deadline. "The troops will be out and a date has been given and the process starts on the 1st of May and goes on until the 11th of September so there is a definite time frame," Qureshi said. Sources have told Reuters, Pakistan was putting pressure on the militants to come back to the table. Qureshi said he believed the Taliban would benefit from staying involved but said, he had no contact with the group. Pakistan, which helped facilitate US-Taliban negotiations in Doha that resulted in the initial May 1 withdrawal deal, wields considerable influence with the Taliban. The insurgents have sanctuaries in Pakistan, whose main military-run intelligence service gives them support, according to US and Afghan officials. Pakistan denies the allegation. Qureshi said he feared violence could escalate if the peace process remains deadlocked, plunging Afghanistan into civil war and leading to an exodus of Afghans.

Pakistan urges Taliban to stay engaged in Afghan peace process 

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Zee News Rajasthan

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