The UN has said it is alarmed by reports of the mass detention of Uighurs in China and called for the release of those held on a counter terrorism “pretext”.

This comes after a UN committee heard reports that up to one million Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang were held in re-education camps, Xinhua news agency reported.

Beijing has denied the allegations but admitted that some religious extremists were being held for re-education.

China has blamed Islamist militants and separatists for unrest in the province.

During a review earlier in August, members of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said credible reports suggested Beijing had “turned the Uighur autonomous region into something that resembles a massive internment camp”.

China responded that Uighurs enjoyed full rights but Beijing made a rare admission that “those deceived by religious extremism… shall be assisted by resettlement and re-education”.

Hundreds of far-right protesters are marching on the Pakistani capital Islamabad, threatening to blockade the city unless the country cuts diplomatic ties with the Netherlands over a cartoon competition deemed to be blasphemous.

Protesters belonging to the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party began the second day of their march on the capital from the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday.

Images from the march showed TLP activists toppling a container used to block their path in the Punjab town of Jhelum, as they continued on their way towards the capital.

Security has been increased in Islamabad ahead of their arrival, with roadblocks prepared to be placed on several major roads.

The TLP activists are protesting against a competition for cartoons depicting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad by far-right Dutch opposition leader Geert Wilders, a known provocateur.

Physical depictions of God or the Prophet Muhammad are forbidden in Islam, and the TLP says the competition amounts to “blasphemy”.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from the competition, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte clarifying that Wilders is not a member of the government.

Pakistan condemns blasphemous Dutch cartoon contest
“The competition is not a government initiative,” he told a news conference last week.

The Dutch government, however, maintains that banning the competition would be a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

Foreign Minister Stef Blok echoed Rutte’s comments.

“The Netherlands very much adheres by freedom of speech, but we also adhere to treat religions respectfully,” Blok said according to Dutch news agency ANP.

He added that the competition “wouldn’t be his choice” but that there were no plans to ban the contest from happening.

Wilders leads the Dutch opposition Freedom Party (PVV) and is known for his incendiary speeches and protests against immigration and Islam.

The far-right politician told Dutch media the contest was not being held “to provoke, but to show we are marching for freedom of speech”.

On Tuesday, Dutch police arrested a man accused of plotting to kill the politician over the competition.

Clashes with riot police
The TLP rose to prominence last November, when firebrand Muslim scholar Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the party’s founder, led a three-week blockade of the Pakistani capital over a minor change to an electoral oath that he said amounted to “blasphemy”.

Riot police clashed with protesters but failed to end the demonstration, with TLP activists only vacating the sit-in after the government capitulated to all their demands, including the reversal of the change in the oath, the resignation of a federal minister, and the granting of legal immunity to all protesters.

In Pakistan’s July general election, the newly formed party bagged 2.2 million votes in national assembly constituencies nationwide, making it the fifth most popular political party in the country.

Tehreek-e-Labbaik: New far right campaigns against ‘blasphemy’
Those votes, however, only translated to two provincial assembly seats in the southern province of Sindh.

Ijaz Ashrafi, a TLP spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that his party was prepared to repeat the November blockade if their demand that Pakistan cut diplomatic ties with the Netherlands was not met.

“This issue must be resolved on an emergency basis, otherwise we will be out on the streets,” he said shortly before the protest. “I don’t mind if I die, but no one can dishonour the Prophet.”

‘They must act’
On Monday, Pakistan’s upper house of parliament passed a resolution condemning the holding of the competition, with newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan saying his government would raise the matter with the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and at the United Nations.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he had requested the OIC to call an emergency meeting on the issue.

“We have decided that an effective voice may be raised unanimously from the OIC platform,” he said.

“I assure the people of Pakistan that we are aware of their sentiments and we will stand with the Muslims around the world in raising the voice against this event.”

Qureshi’s statement followed an official note of protest registered with the Dutch charge d’affaires in Islamabad, as well as a phone call with Dutch Foreign Minister Blok.

It is unclear, however, if the government’s statements will be deemed sufficient by the TLP.

As the protest caravan of hundreds wound its way through Punjab province, the country’s political heartland, demonstrators carried banners condemning the Dutch government and Wilders and sang devotional songs.

Dutch police arrest man over alleged plot to kill Geert Wilders
“For our Prophet’s honour, we will lay down our lives,” they chanted, video footage from the rally showed.

Prime Minister Khan frequently referred to the blasphemy allegations raised by the TLP in November during his election campaign, and in his victory speech promised to run the country on the basis of the Prophet Muhammad’s governance of the Arab state of Medina in the 7th century.

“They have made a promise during the election, they have promised to establish a state along the lines of Medina,” said TLP spokesperson Ashrafi.

“So now they must act.”

Tokyo Fasten your seatbelt to board a flying cab soon as Uber on Thursday selected India as one of the first five shortlisted finalist countries that could be home to the first international Uber Air City within the next five years.

After evaluating countries across the globe, Uber Elevate — the ride-hailing platform’s aerial taxi arm — announced Japan, India, Australia, Brazil and France as shortlisted countries at the first “Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo” in Tokyo here.

Uber will choose one of the cities from these 5 shortlisted countries as its third launch city for flying taxis — after Dallas and Los Angeles in the US.

“Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru are some of the most congested cities in the world, where travelling even a few kilometers can take over an hour. Uber Air offers tremendous potential to help create a transportation option that goes over congestion, instead of adding to it,” the company said in a statement.

Uber Elevate also announced plans to experiment with drone delivery for Uber Eats, and demonstrated how potential Uber Air routes in Asia Pacific cities could benefit local transportation systems.

“We are proud to host the first ever Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo. We are announcing a shortlist of five countries where Uber Air can immediately transform transportation and take our technology to new heights,” said Eric Allison, Head of Uber Aviation Programmes.

In the next five years, Uber customers in launch cities will be able to push a button and get a flight on demand.

To enable this, Uber has assembled a network of partners that includes vehicle manufacturers, real estate developers, technology developers and more.

Dallas and Los Angeles were previously announced as the first two US launch cities and at the second annual Uber Elevate Summit in May, Uber announced it was seeking an international city as a third partner.

“We see much potential in flying cars, and we anticipate that flying cars can be used not only to help solve traffic congestion in urban areas, but it will also help with increase mobility between city centres and remote islands and mountainous areas, promote tourism in Japan as well as enhance disaster relief operations,” said Daisaku Hiraki, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan.

“The Uber Elevate team is now inviting conversations with stakeholders across major cities in these countries, and will announce the chosen Uber Air international city within the next six months,” said the company.

Uber Elevate has established a criteria framework to select the third city, anchored around three priority principles: sizable market, local commitment and enabling conditions.

San Francisco Alex Hardiman, Head of News Products at Facebook, is joining US-based magazine and multi-platform publisher The Atlantic as its Chief Business and Product Officer.

“At The Atlantic, she will lead the product, engineering, data and growth teams and shape The Atlantic’s ongoing initiatives on digital consumer revenue,” the Adweek reported on Wednesday.

The Atlantic reportedly said it was expanding its ranks by 100 and that the teams that would report to Hardiman have doubled in size over the past one year.

“Hardiman is taking over many of the duties previously led by Kim Lau, who was promoted earlier this summer from senior vice president of digital to executive vice president of strategy and operations,” the report added.

She joined Facebook in 2016 when criticism against the social networking giant for its role in spreading “fake news” was fast spreading.

“Alex is a true leader who built a fantastic team,” a representative from Facebook was quoted as saying by TechCrunch.

She was elevated to lead Facebook’s news efforts on the product side in May 2017.

Prior to that, Hardiman has spent more than a decade at The New York Times, completing her tenure as vice president of news products.

[IANS]

San Francisco Photo-messaging app Snapchat is the most preferred social networking platform among US teenagers, surpassing the userbase of Facebook and Instagram in that age-category, says a new study.

In 2018, 16.4 million 12 to 17 year-olds are likely to use Snapchat, comapred with 12.8 million for Instagram, according to the analysis by market research company eMarketer.

Snapchat will remain dominant among teenagers till 2022, the report said.

“Snapchat and Instagram are the top social apps for teens, and this year they’ll add nearly the same number of new teen users,” the report quoted Christopher Bendtsen, Senior Forecasting Analyst, eMarketer as saying.

“Snapchat will continue to add users aged 12 to 17, while Facebook will continue to lose users in that cohort. In fact, we estimate Snapchat will add 1.2 million new users in that age group by 2022, while Facebook will lose 2.2 million,” the report said.

This year, 11.5 million people in the US ages 12 to 17 will be on Facebook, down from 12.1 million in 2017. By 2022, the number of Facebook users in that age bracket will drop to 9.3 million, it added.

However, Facebook continues to be the most used social networking app among US millennials, with 58.5 million users expected to use the platform this year followed by Instagram ranking second with 43.3 million expected users, according to the research.

[IANS]

Iran’s parliament has referred President Hassan Rouhani to the country’s judiciary after he failed to impress legislators with his explanation of his government’s handling of Iran’s economic struggles.

Rouhani was summoned by parliament on Tuesday for the first time since taking power five years ago to answer questions on a range of economic issues, including unemployment and inflation.

In voting after the session, which was broadcast live on state television, MPs expressed dissatisfaction with four out of five of Rouhani’s responses.

The leader has been under intense pressure since US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and several world powers, worsening an economic crisis and sparkings a series of domestic protests.

In Tuesday’s session, he blamed Iran’s economic woes on an “American conspiracy” and urged parliament to support his cabinet.

“There is an anti-Iran group sitting in the White House that is planning a conspiracy against us,” Rouhani said. “But together we will tackle this phase.

Iran unemployment crisis, rising living costs bite amid sanctions
“It should not be said we are facing a crisis. There is no crisis. If we say there is, it will become a problem for society and a threat,” he said.

Political unrest
Parliament has already impeached Rouhani’s labour and economy ministers this month and the president replaced the head of the central bank, amid concerns about the sharp depreciation of the national currency, which has lost more than half of its value since April.

While Iran’s parliament has the power to impeach a president, Rouhani is protected by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who recently said that removing the president would “play into the hands of the enemy.”

Parliament asked Rouhani about:
Unemployment, slow growth, the rial
Financial reforms
Access to global financial services
Banking
Smuggling
The MPs quizzed Rouhani on his government’s failure to tackle the rise of unemployment, slow economic growth and the fall of the rial, as well as cross-border smuggling operations.

The president said he had asked the country’s Revolutionary Guard to help stamp out illicit trade.

The only answer which legislators accepted related to international banking sanctions, which they agreed were beyond the government’s control.

Hardliners, who always opposed the nuclear deal and any thaw in relations with the West, have called on Rouhani to step down.

The case will now be referred to the country’s judiciary for consideration.

Aljazeera

Taipei At least four people were killed and 143 injured following torrential rains in Taiwan that also caused agricultural losses worth more than 563.2 million Taiwanese dollars ($18 million), authorities said on Monday.

Central and southern Taiwan have suffered floods that have paralysed factories and work on farms in addition to causing power outages and damaging several roads, reports Efe news.

According to disaster management authorities, thousands of homes have been flooded and about 7,000 people have been evacuated, including 1,827 who are living in 20 temporary shelters.

Some 70,000 households have suffered power outages, according to fire agency data.

A Taiwanese weather expert on Monday forecast three more days of torrential rains and strong winds, warning residents of increased flooding, landslides and falling rocks, while evacuations continue.

The army has mobilized more than 37,000 troops and some 5,000 aircraft and vehicles to deal with the situation arising from the torrential rains.

[IANS]

Pakistan will reiterate its serious objections over two water storage and hydropower projects being built by India during a meet with New Delhi this week in Lahore.

A government official told Dawn news on Sunday that Indian Water Commissioner P.K Saxena, along with a delegation, was expected to reach Lahore on Tuesday to begin the discussions with his Pakistani counterpart Syed Mehr Ali Shah from Wednesday.

The official said Pakistan would raise its concerns over the 1000MW Pakal Dul and 48MW Lower Kalnai hydroelectric projects on two different tributaries of River Chenab despite Islamabad’s serious objections over their designs.

Pakistan has been raising reservations over the designs of the two projects and would like India to either modify it to make them compliant to 1960 Indus Waters Treaty or put the projects on hold until an understanding is reached between the two sides.

The official said Islamabad and New Delhi would also finalise the schedule of future meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission and visits of the teams of the Indus commissioners.

He said that the water commissioners of Pakistan and India were required to meet twice a year and arrange technical visits to projects’ sites and critical river head works, but Pakistan had been facing a lot of problems in timely meetings and visits.

The two-day session is also expected to discuss ways and means for timely and smooth sharing of hydrological data on shared rivers.

Pakal Dul is a storage-cum-power project and can have gross storage of about 108,000 acre feet of water. The project design envisages its filling every monsoon season between mid-June and end-August.

Pakistan believes that the tunnel spillway of Pakal Dul should be raised closer to the dead storage level because its placement 40 metres below the dead storage level could allow drawdown flushing not permitted to India under the 1960 water treaty, reports Dawn news.

On the 48MW Lower Kalnai project, Pakistan has raised objections to its freeboard, pondage and intake and is of the view that the depth of bridge girder and provision of freeboard should be close to one metre and considers two-metre freeboard as “excessive”.

The Lower Kalnai project is on a left bank tributary of Chenab and can have gross storage of about 1,508 acre feet of water.

Under the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty 1960, waters of the eastern rivers – Sutlej, Beas and Ravi – had been allocated to India and the western rivers – the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab – to Pakistan, except for certain non-consumptive uses for India.

(IANS)

The Pakistan government has banned VIP protocol given by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to influential people at airports across the country, the media reported on Monday.

The decision came into force from Sunday as the Interior Ministry directed all officials concerned of the agency’s immigration wing to implement it, reports Dawn news.

“We have decided to strictly implement the decision to provide equal opportunities to all travellers without any discrimination,” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told Dawn on Sunday.

“We have seen that influential people used to seek assistance of FIA officials at airports who (officials) accompanied them to promptly clear their luggage,” the Minister said.

The VIP protocol was usually given to politicians, legislators, senior bureaucrats, judges, military officials and journalists.

In case any FIA official is caught giving protocol to a VIP, he would face strict action, the Ministry warned.

Immigration counters at airports would be monitored and if any VIP was seen being given special treatment, the immigration staff and official in charge of their shift would be immediately suspended.

It was observed in the VIP lounge at Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad that the influential people would sit in a luxurious atmosphere while their luggage was being cleared by FIA officials, Airport Security Staff or Civil Aviation Authority.

However, there is no such lounge available at the new Islamabad airport established near Fatehjang where all passengers have to follow the normal procedure.

The President of Zimbabwe took the oath of office on Sunday, calling for unity following a disputed election that the opposition claimed was marred by fraud.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, won the July 30 election with 50.6 per cent of the vote, after ascending to the presidency in November 2017 following a military coup that ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe, under whom he served as Vice President.

“We are all Zimbabweans; what unites us is greater than what could ever divide us,” Mnangagwa said via his official Twitter.

“Let me assure you that tomorrow is brighter than yesterday! Let us look forward to the journey ahead,” his statement continued, calling it “a journey of development, progress and prosperity”.

Ex-president Mugabe and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer, did not attend the swearing-in ceremony held in front of a large crowd at the National Sports Stadium in the capital Harare, Efe reported.

Chamisa had rejected Friday’s decision by the country’s top court dismissing opposition claims of electoral fraud, citing a lack of evidence, and on Saturday declared himself the actual winner and called for peaceful protests.

Chamisa told members of the press on Saturday that he was not invited to the ceremony because “they know they cannot invite me to a wedding where I was the one supposed to be receiving the gifts”.

On August 1, two days after the election, at least six opposition protesters were shot dead by police and army forces, which used live ammunition, water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators who took to the streets claiming vote-rigging even before the results were officially announced.

In his inaugural address, Mnangagwa announced he would appoint a commission to investigate the six deaths during the post-election violence.

Mnangagwa and Mugabe come from the generation of politicians who fought to end white-minority rule and who have run Zimbabwe since winning independence in 1980, while Chamisa sought to tap into younger voters, as 60 per cent of the country’s 5.6 million registered voters were under 40.

(IANS)