28-04-2021

weDneSDAy, APRIl 28, 2021
2
Global rights group accuses Israel
of apartheid, persecution
JERUSALEM : One of the world's bestknown
human rights groups said Tuesday
that Israel is guilty of the international
crimes of apartheid and persecution
because of discriminatory policies toward
Palestinians within its own borders and in
the occupied territories.
In a sweeping, 213-page report, the New
York-based Human Rights Watch joins a
growing number of commentators and
rights groups who view the conflict not
primarily as a land dispute but as a single
regime in which Palestinians - who make
up roughly half the population of Israel,
the West Bank and Gaza - are
systematically denied basic rights granted
to Jews.
Israel adamantly rejects that
characterization, saying its Arab minority
enjoys full civil rights. It views Gaza, from
which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in
2005, as a hostile entity ruled by the
Islamic militant group Hamas, and it
considers the West Bank to be disputed
Industrialist Deen
Mohammad
passes away
DHAKA : Prominent
Industrialist and chairman of
the Phoenix Group Deen
Mohammad passed away due
to old age complications at a
city hospital early Tuesday.
He was 83, reports UNB.
Deen Mohammad, also the
founder of City Bank,
breathed his last at Anwar
Khan Modern Medical
College and Hospital around 1
am.
He had been suffering from
different old age
complications.
The veteran businessman
left his wife, one son, two
daughters and a host of
relatives to mourn his death.
His namaz-e-janaza will be
held at Lalbagh Shahi
Mosque after Zohr prayer.
territory subject to peace negotiations -
which collapsed more than a decade ago,
reports UNB.
Human Rights Watch focused its report
on the definitions of apartheid and
persecution used by the International
Criminal Court, which launched a probe
into possible Israeli war crimes last
month. Israel rejects the court as biased.
Citing public statements by Israeli
leaders and official policies, HRW argued
that Israel has "demonstrated an intent to
maintain the domination of Jewish
Israelis over Palestinians" in Israel, the
West Bank and Gaza, coupled with
"systematic oppression" and "inhumane
acts."
"When these three elements occur
together, they amount to the crime of
apartheid," it said.
As to the charge of persecution, the
group cited "grave abuses" in the
occupied territories, including land
confiscation, the systematic denial of
Philippines weighs extending lockdown
as COVID cases top 1M
MANILA : Coronavirus infections surged past
1 million in the Philippines on Monday as
officials assess whether to extend a monthlong
lockdown in the Manila region amid a grim
spike in cases or relax it to fight a recession,
joblessness and hunger, reports UNB.
The Department of Health reported 8,929
new infections on Monday, bringing the
country's total to 1,006,428, including 16,853
deaths. The totals are the second highest in
Southeast Asia after Indonesia.
The Philippines imposed its first virus
lockdown in March last year, confining
millions of people to their homes and shutting
public transport and most businesses. The
heavy restrictions were eased later in the year
but the economy still contracted by 9.6% in
2020, with unemployment and hunger at their
worst in years. Infections, however, spiked
again last month to some of the worst levels in
Asia, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte's
building permits, home demolitions and
"sweeping, decades-long restrictions on
freedom of movement and basic human
rights."
The report cites a range of policies it
says are aimed at ensuring a Jewish
majority in Israel and lands it intends to
keep, while largely confining Palestinians
to scattered enclaves under overarching
Israeli control, with policies that
encourage Palestinians to leave.
While such policies are far more severe
in the occupied territories, HRW said
they can also be found in Israel itself,
where Palestinian citizens, who make up
roughly 20% of the population, face
widespread discrimination when it comes
to housing, land access and basic services.
Omar Shakir, the author of the report,
said that from the heady early days of the
peace process in the 1990s up until the
Obama years, "there was enough there to
question whether there was an intent for
permanent domination."
administration to reimpose a lockdown in the
Manila region, the country's financial and
commercial hub with more than 25 million
people. Several hospitals in the metropolis
reported being overwhelmed, with new
COVID-19 patients waiting in hospital
driveways, ambulances and cars. Hospital
officials say many health workers have been
infected or have had to take a break due to
stress and fatigue.
Despite a slight decline in new cases, Health
Secretary Francisco Duque III said he believes
the current lockdown should be extended by
another week or two. Economic officials have
warned that a prolonged lockdown would
increase unemployment and slow an economic
recovery. "Our health system's capacity hasn't
improved that much," Duque told the DZMM
radio network, adding the shortage of hospital
intensive care units in some cities remains
critical.
In order to prevent the deadly corona virus, Barishal district administration has stood beside the
low-income working people. The Barishal district administration has been working relentlessly for
the poor and helpless people of the district since the onset of the second wave of corona virus infection.
In continuation of this, gifts by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were distributed at Shaheed
Abdur Rob Serniabat Stadium in the city on Tuesday. Divisional Commissioner of Barishal Md.
Saiful Hasan Badal was the chief guest on the occasion while Deputy Commissioner of Barishal
Jasim Uddin Haider presided over the function.
Photo: Zihad Rana
GD-744/21 (7x 4)
†kL nvwmbvi g~jbxwZ
MÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ
GD-740/21 (7x 4)