19-25 February 2018 - 16 new-min

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8 19 - 25 February, 2018 Neighbourhood News NEW DELHI TIMES T B US Cautiously Welcomes Pakistan’s Actions Against Sanctioned Terrorists he United States has cautiously welcomed the steps Pakistan has taken this week to ban individuals and groups on the United Nations Security Council list of “terrorists.” But U.S. officials are not saying whether the move is enough for Washington to ease up on its push to add Pakistan to an international terrorism-financing watch list. “We look forward to additional information on how these steps are being implemented and what concrete steps are being taken to counter the groups, which is crucial,” a State Department spokesperson said. According to a Reuters report this week, the U.S. and Britain put forward a motion with the Financial Action Task Force, an international anti-money laundering watch group, to put Pakistan on its grey list. Later, the report said the two countries had convinced France and Germany to cosponsor it. A plenary meeting of the task force will begin in Paris on February 18. A senior Pakistani official said the country is complying with the UNSC regulations and is also briefing the member countries on the steps Pakistan is taking to address the terrorism financing issue. “Our envoys have already arrived in different member countries and briefing them,” the official added. Hafiz Saeed Of particular concern to the U.S. is Hafiz Saeed, and groups linked to him. Saeed is listed as a “terrorist” by the U.S. and the UNSC for his alleged involvement in 2008 UK’s top diplomat meets Myanmar’s Suu Kyi on Rohingya crisis ritish Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the Southeast Asian nation’s Muslim ethnic Rohingya minority and how almost 700,000 of them can be repatriated safely after fleeing to Bangladesh to escape violence perpetrated largely by Myanmar’s military. A statement from Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Johnson and Suu Kyi discussed repatriation and developments in Rakhine, the western Myanmar state from where the Rohingya have fled over the past few months. Johnson arrived in Myanmar from Bangladesh, where he visited with Rohingya refugees. “Discussed importance of Burmese authorities in carrying out full & independent investigation into the violence in #Rakhine & urgent need to create the right conditions for #Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Rakhine,” Johnson wrote on his Twitter account of his meeting with Suu Kyi, who also serves as foreign minister. The meeting took place in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital. The Rohingya have long faced severe discrimination and were www.NewDelhiTimes.com terror attacks on the Indian financial capital Mumbai that killed more than 150 people, including Americans. The U.S. has a bounty of $10 million for information leading to his prosecution. Photo Credit : AP Photo Groups linked to Saeed, such as Lashkar e Taiba, which, according to the UNSC, morphed into Jamaat ud Dawa and later Falah i Insaniat Foundation, also are listed as terrorist entities accused of involvement in militancy in India and Afghanistan. Until now, Saeed, and the latter of these two groups, were on a terrorism watch list in Pakistan but not banned. They could raise funds and operate charitable entities. Saeed was put under house arrest by the government several times, but he managed to get relief from the courts who said there was not enough evidence to convict him. Pakistan amended its anti-terrorism law to automatically ban individuals and entities sanctioned by the UNSC. Pakistan’s Interior the targets of violence in 2012 that killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people — predominantly Rohingya — from their homes to camps for the internally displaced, where most remained until last year’s fresh violence, the scale of which has led to accusations that Myanmar’s army carried out ethnic cleansing or even genocide. Myanmar’s government has denied carrying out any large-scale or organized abuses against the Rohingya. The government refuses to recognize the Rohingya as a legitimate native ethnic minority. Most Rohingya are denied citizenship and its rights. “I pay tribute to the hospitality and compassion shown by the government of Bangladesh, who are facing an enormous challenge in providing humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya community,” Johnson said that after visiting Rohingya refugees at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, on the border with Myanmar. “While I welcome steps by both the Burmese and Bangladeshi governments towards ensuring that these people can return home, it is vital that the Rohingya refugees must be allowed Ministry issued a notice ordering a seizure of all assets, “movable, immovable, and human resource” associated with these groups. The government of the Punjab province, where the groups are headquartered, has started taking over seminaries and health facilities operated by JuD or FiF, according to local media reports. In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan issued a circular warning companies against donating money to entities sanctioned under UNSC. Terrorism finance list carries heavy penalty While the FATF does not have the power to sanction a country, getting on its grey list can put a tremendous financial burden on a country’s economy. Banks rely on a network of correspondent banks in multiple countries for international transactions. When a country is on the grey list, the correspondent banks become more wary of the monetary flow with them. To avoid landing in trouble for supporting terrorism financing or money laundering, they put in precautionary measures and the listed country’s banks have to pay the additional cost. “Every time your bank interacts with the outside world, the cost would go up,” said Khurram Hussain, a financial columnist in Pakistan’s English language daily The Dawn. He pointed out that this would not just raise the cost of doing business for Pakistan, it also could drive down remittances from to their homes in Rakhine voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, under international oversight, and when the conditions in Burma are right,” he said. Myanmar was previously known as Burma. Myanmar’s Catholic cardinal said it’s likely that Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh won’t ever go home, and that “the elements of ethnic cleansing” that drove them out are now apparent. Two months after Pope Francis visited Myanmar and Bangladesh, Cardinal Charles Bo said that even though the Myanmar government was making plans to receive Rohingya back, many would opt to go Pakistanis living overseas. Pakistan gets more than $13 billion in remittances every year, most of them from Pakistanis working in the Middle East. Hussain said these people are very sensitive to the cost of remitting money and would switch to informal means of sending money home. In addition, this could raise the cost for Pakistan of borrowing money from international markets. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said putting Pakistan on the grey list would help the terrorist outfits by “adversely impacting funding of our security operations that Pakistan is paying out of our own pocket.” He also said Pakistan has a “collective will and plan to root out terrorism and extremism from our society,” but greylisting the country would help the terrorist outfits because it would send a signal to the population that the agenda was “foreign and West driven.” The U.S. accuses Pakistan of taking action against terrorists that threaten its own security but not against those active in either India or Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies. “We stand ready to work together with Pakistan to combat terrorist groups without distinction. We will continue these conversations with the Pakistani government in private,” said a State Department spokesperson. Credit : Voice of America (VOA) elsewhere. He cited security fears, continued discrimination and economic necessity. Bo, who was at a Vatican conference on human trafficking, defended Suu Kyi, who has come under severe criticism for inaction in curbing abuses of the Rohingya, saying she has no constitutional right to speak out against the military. While saying more proof was needed, Bo acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that “the elements of ethnic cleansing” against Rohingya existed. Credit : Associated Press (AP) Photo Credit : AP Photo India’s only International Newspaper
19 - 25 February, 2018 9 Canada News Canadian PM Trudeau and LA mayor toast friendship with hike C apping off a three-day swing through California that’s mostly been focused on business and trade, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toasted his country’s friendship with Los Angeles by taking a brisk morning hike with Mayor Eric Garcetti. Dressed in shorts and athletic shirts, the two men spoke with reporters before walking through Griffith Park. The appearance came the morning after Trudeau gave a speech about the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. A California Highway Patrol officer accompanying the prime minister was injured in a crash that happened shortly after Trudeau’s motorcade left the library. Garcetti said that the officer is expected to recover from a broken clavicle. Trudeau’s vehicle was not involved and he was not injured. Asked by a reporter if the officer’s injury was overshadowing the purpose of his trip, Trudeau said the message that the two countries share close ties has not been lost. “That emphasis that we are working together for the betterment of our citizens is a message that does continue and does resonate,” he said. The two men made statements in English, French and Spanish. Garcetti warmly welcomed Trudeau to Los Angeles and said that Canada was a major trading partner for the city. “It’s very important for us in this moment, when there is so much supposed division in the world to reinsure that there is friendship and strength,” Garcetti said. “We see friendship as a strength and conflict as a weakness.” The two men, both in their 40s, then set off at a brisk pace. They chatted with other hikers and posed for a “selfie” with one group. Trudeau said the hike was “awesome” and “beautiful.” Trudeau came with an unambiguous message that NAFTA is a success that needs to be modernized and not abandoned. The next round of talks over the trade pact is set to begin in Mexico later this month. President Donald Trump called the 24-year-old agreement a job-killing “disaster” on the campaign trail, and he has threatened to pull out unless the deal requires more auto production in the U.S., while shifting additional government contracts to U.S. companies. Trudeau argued that the deal has sent benefits both ways across the border. But he added: “President Trump and I agree about this: Too many people have been left behind, even as our economies surged.” Trudeau was in San Francisco, where he picked up promises of investments and jobs during his first official visit to the city. Among them, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations. The speech was a centerpiece on his swing in which he warned Canada won’t be muscled into a trade deal that is unfavorable to his country, while promoting the country as a destination for California technology firms uneasy with shifting U.S. immigration policy. Credit : Associated Press (AP) India’s only International Newspaper In US swing, Trudeau mixes job deals with defense of NAFTA C anadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came with an unambiguous message on his latest US visit: the North American Free Trade Agreement is a success that needs to be modernized, not abandoned. With the next round of talks over the trade pact set to begin in Mexico later this month, Trudeau used a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to cast the deal as part of a long history between the two countries that has been beneficial for both. Yet he also echoed frequent criticism from President Donald Trump, who has threatened to pull out of NAFTA, that too many workers are being left behind in the global economy. “We need to collectively do a much better job of ensuring the benefits of trade are shared more broadly,” Trudeau said. The speech was a centerpiece on his swing in which he warned Canada won’t be muscled into a trade deal that is unfavorable to his country, while promoting Canada as a destination for California technology firms uneasy with shifting U.S. immigration policy. After the speech, a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer who was part of Trudeau’s motorcade crashed and was sent to a hospital with moderate injuries, the Ventura County Fire Department said. The vehicle carrying the prime minister was not involved and he was not hurt. Trudeau picked up promises of investments and jobs during his first official visit to San Francisco. Among them: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations. Trump called the 24-year-old agreement a job-killing “disaster” on the campaign trail, and he has threatened to pull out unless the deal requires more auto production in the U.S., while shifting additional government contracts to U.S. companies. Trudeau argued that the deal has sent benefits both ways across the border. He said 9 million jobs in America are tied to trade and investment with Canada and “the truth is that both Canada and the United States are winning. And so is Mexico. And that’s exactly how we should keep it.” But he added: “President Trump and I agree about this: Too many people have been left behind, even as our economies surged.” But an agreement, he warned, will take “a willingness to compromise on all sides.” The location of the speech carried symbolic weight, alluding to the longstanding trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, Reagan and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement — a precursor to NAFTA. In his speech, Trudeau made repeated references to the historic connections between the two countries and argued that backing away from NAFTA could unspool deep ties across the continent — with an unknown cost. The liberal Trudeau argued that differing political views need not stand in the way of trade agreement, alluding to the Republican president. Reaching agreements has always required “persistence and no shortage of sunny, Reagan-esque optimism on both sides,” he said. Uncertainty over Trump’s immigration policies has provided momentum for Trudeau’s economic pitch to Silicon Valley, where many companies that rely on foreign workers have become uneasy. On his visit to Northern California, Trudeau promoted his country’s fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the “global skills strategy visa.” Trudeau also met with Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as Bezos considers possible locations for a second headquarters. Toronto, which has created a governmentsponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was the only one of several Canadian cities that made the shortlist. Trudeau’s stop in San Francisco highlighted the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology. While much of the attention on the North American Free Trade Agreement has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Credit : Associated Press (AP) NEW DELHI TIMES Photo Credit : AP Photo No new remains found in Toronto yard tied to alleged killer T oronto police said that they found no additional human remains in the backyard of a house where they earlier discovered planters containing the remains of six men, but say they still are hunting for more victims of a suspected serial killer. Police spokesman Meaghan Gray said that investigators had finished their excavation of backyard at a home suspect Bruce McArthur had used to store items for his landscaping business. “We did not locate any additional remains,” Gray said. Gray said they will also search the main drain of the property for potential evidence. But she said police will primarily now focus on looking through planters found at that property and elsewhere around the city. McArthur has been charged with the murders of five men, all connected with the city’s Gay Village district. Police say they expect to file more charges. “We still have properties that we are searching, that long client list of Mr. McArthur’s that we are making our way through,” Gray said. Authorities have checked at least 30 other places the landscaper was known to have worked, including some of Toronto’s wealthiest neighborhoods, and have collected at least 15 planters. Police say they are thinking of excavating a second property in Toronto but have not yet made a decision on that. Investigators say the 66-year-old McArthur is believed to have met his victims in Toronto’s Gay Village and on gay dating apps for older and large men with names such as “SilverDaddies” and “Bear411.” Edward Royle, a lawyer for McArthur, has declined comment on the case, which is due back in court. He has yet to enter a plea. McArthur was arrested Jan. 18 and charged with two counts of murder in connection with the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman, 49, and Selim Esen, 44, who were last seen in the Gay Village. Not long after that, he was charged with the murders of three more men: 58-year-old Majeed Kayhan, who went missing in 2012, 50-year-old Soroush Marmudi, who went missing in 2015, and Dean Lisowick, who went missing between May 2016 and July 2017. Police said they will eventually look at hundreds of missing person cases and try to determine if they were victims of McArthur. They are also running down tips that have come in from around the world. Credit : Associated Press (AP) Photo Credit : AP Photo www.NewDelhiTimes.com
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Page 15 and 16: 19 - 25 February, 2018 15 Entertain

19-25 February 2018 - 16 new-min

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