WORLD

United Nations, Oct 28 (IANS) India’s women peacekeepers inspire women in conflict zones and improve civilian protection, the UN Peacebuilding Commission was told.Indian women peacekeepers, who were pioneers in the UN mission deployments, “inspire women in conflict zones through example, that they, too, can be leaders and peacebuilders,” P. Wilson said on Monday at the Commission’s meeting on Women, Peace and Security.“They build trust in communities and give hope to vulnerable populations, particularly women and children,” he said, and “most critically, they help address gender-based violence and ensure that peace processes reflect the needs and perspectives of all segments of society”.Wilson, who is a Rajya Sabha member from the DMK, began his speech with the Tamil greeting, “Vanakam”, a...

Washington, Oct 27 (IANS) Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have joined hands to support the India-US relationship, months after the Trump administration announced a series of policies targeting Indian interests.At least six bipartisan letters and resolutions have been drafted over the past 10 days defending the interests of the Indian American community, reaffirming support for the India–US partnership, and pressing the administration for accountability over its recent actions targeting New Delhi.Last week, a group of House members expressed concern that an event at Rutgers University on Monday could "fuel further prejudice" against Hindus at a time when Hindu temples have been targets of violence.The co-signers of the letter were Democrats Sanford Bishop from Georgia, Shri Thaneda...

Washington, Oct 27 (IANS) The US government shutdown entered its 27th day on Monday, making it the second-longest funding lapse in American history, as Democrats and Republicans continued to trade blame with no resolution in sight.The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, but is not expected to vote immediately on a House-passed measure to fund the government. The shutdown, which began late last month after Congress failed to agree on a spending package, has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers and disrupted key government services across the country.The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers, issued a statement urging lawmakers to end the impasse. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdow...

Quetta, Oct 27 (IANS) Another four Baloch civilians were forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani forces in Dera Bugti district of Balochistan amid a growing wave of enforced disappearances in the region, said a leading human rights organisation on Monday.The latest incident comes against the backdrop of a continuing cycle of persecution marked by a surge in enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture across the province.Citing verified local reports, Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on October 25 conducted violent raids in Derahan Colony of Dera Bugti, forcibly abducting two young men: Imam Dad and Jan Mohammad.In a separate operation in the Sui Bazaar area of the district, two other...

Washington, Oct 27 (IANS) The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) has called on US President Donald Trump to use his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on October 30 in South Korea to publicly condemn Beijing's ongoing genocide of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic people in occupied East Turkistan and make clear that America will never compromise its values or interests with a genocidal Communist regime."Under President Trump's leadership, the United States became the first nation to officially recognise China's crimes in East Turkistan as genocide and crimes against humanity. The Trump Administration led global condemnation at the United Nations and imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and entities, including the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, resp...

Dhaka, Oct 27 (IANS) At least eight leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations were arrested by Bangladesh police on charges of taking part in a flash mob procession in Dhaka.Confirming the development on Monday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch (DB) stated that the arrests were made during raids conducted across various parts of the capital from Sunday evening to night.According to the police, during initial interrogation, the arrested individuals admitted to participating in several flash marches and organised activities across the capital under the banner of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations, adding that legal action is underway against them, Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily ‘Jugantor’ reported.In a separate development o...

Islamabad, Oct 27 (IANS) The cruelty of Pakistan's justice system is demonstrated through hundreds of children sleeping behind bars not for crime but because their mothers have nowhere else to go. At least 140 children under the age of six are growing up behind bars alongside their incarcerated mothers in the province of Punjab alone, a report has revealed."In the cold architecture of Pakistan’s prisons, innocence exists in the most unnatural of places: steel cages, overcrowded cells, and the stale air of confinement. Here, childhood unfolds in captivity.In Punjab alone, at least 140 children under the age of six are growing up in prisons alongside their incarcerated mothers. The statistics are clinical — 67 boys and 73 girls spread across 45 prisons — but the human reality behind those...

Canberra, Oct 27 (IANS) In a significant milestone, the Indian Army Sailing Vessel (IASV) Triveni, crewed by six women officers from the Indian Armed Forces, reached the Australian city of Perth on Monday after completing the first leg of its global circumnavigation expedition under mission Samudra Pradakshina.Triveni, the world's first Tri Service All Women Circumnavigation Expedition, was warmly welcomed at the Fremantle Sailing Club by the Indian Consul General in Perth, Kajari Biswas and the Australian Defence Advisor.According to the Indian High Commission in Canberra, after a quick rest and recuperation period and maintenance, IASV Triveni will set off for the next leg of the mission.During the circumnavigation, the crew will cross the three major oceans covering a distance of over...

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 27 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held a meeting with Vietnam's Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung on the sidelines of East Asia Summit (EAS) in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur on Monday, discussing the deepening of strategic partnership and bilateral economic engagement."A first meeting with FM Le Hoai Trung of Vietnam. Discussed deepening of our strategic partnership and bilateral economic engagement," EAM Jaishankar posted on X.Earlier in September, EAM Jaishankar congratulated Le Hoai Trung and people of Vietnam on their National Day and noted that the strategic partnership between two nations is growing steadily.In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar wrote, "Congratulations to Acting FM Le Hoai Trung, the Government and the people of Vietnam on the 80th anniversa...