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☆ Malaysia’s ‘orangutan diplomacy’ plan slammed as ‘obscene’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Halved oil palm kernels are seen on the trade floor of a commodities conference and exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. “Orangutan diplomacy will not solve Malaysia’s deforestation crisis,” Heng Kiah Chun, a regional campaign strategist for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, told CNN. By 2012, their numbers had dropped by almost two-thirds, to 104,700 and the decline has continued,” the WWF report said. Therefore it is crucial that all remaining orangutan habitats are conserved,” WWF Malaysia told CNN in a statement. “Orangutan conservation is best achieved by ensuring the protection and conservation of their natural habitats – and that no further forest conversion into palm oil plantations is allowed.”

Persons: ”, Johari Abdul Ghani, ” Ghani, Tengku Bahar, ” Stuart Pimm, Pimm, Ghani, ” Heng Kiah Chun Organizations: CNN, Getty, Duke University, Malaysia’s Ministry of, Commodities, Chengdu Research Base, Visual China, Malaysian, World Wildlife Fund, WWF, Rimba, Greenpeace Southeast, CNN Conservation, WWF Malaysia Locations: China, Australia, Malaysia, Asia, Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Malaysian, EU, India, Tengku, AFP, South Carolina, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, WWF Malaysia, Borneo, Brunei, “

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Wednesday welcomed the resumption of FlyDubai flights to Kabul's international airport two years after stopping service following the collapse of the Western-backed government. All international airlines halted flights to Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces departed after two decades of war. FlyDubai, the sister carrier of long-haul airline Emirates, now will make two flights a day to Kabul. In May last year, the Taliban signed a deal allowing an Emirati company to manage three airports in Afghanistan. Two Afghan airlines, Kam Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines, operate from Kabul to destinations such as Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad and Istanbul.

Persons: FlyDubai, Abdul Ghani Baradar, ”, Abu, Ashraf Ghani, Jon Gambrell Organizations: —, Wednesday, NATO, United, Emirates, Taliban, Solutions, Kam, Ariana Afghan Airlines, Associated Press, Badruddin Haqqani, Airbus, Dubai Air, UAE . The Emirates, U.S, ___ Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Kabul, Abu Dhabi, Herat, Kandahar, Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad, Istanbul, UAE

☆ Father, family members convicted in terrorism, kidnapping case after raid at New Mexico compound
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A father and several of his family members were convicted of charges in a terrorism and kidnapping case in which his 3-year-old son was found dead on a New Mexico compound, prosecutors said Friday. A federal jury convicted four members of the family Tuesday after their 2018 arrest following a raid at the rural New Mexico compound, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said in a news release Friday. Officers were searching the compound for 3-year-old Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, who had been abducted by his father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, from his wife in Georgia, authorities said. Morton was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death and kidnapping resulting in death, according to the jury sheets. The four convicted defendants each face up to life in prison, while Leveille faces up to 17 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Persons: Abdul, Ghani Wahhaj, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, Lucas Morton, Morton, Wahhaj, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj –, Jany Leveille, “, Abdul Ghani, Jesus Christ, Leveille, ”, Ryan J, Villa, Subhanah Wahhaj, Raul Bujanda Organizations: CNN, US, Office, District, FBI, Prosecutors Locations: New Mexico, Georgia, United States

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKABUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The Taliban will attend China's Belt and Road Forum next week, a spokesman said on Saturday, underscoring Beijing's growing official ties with the administration, despite its lack of formal recognition by any government. Taliban officials and ministers have at times travelled to regional meetings, mostly those focussed on Afghanistan, but the Belt and Road Forum is among the highest-profile multilateral summits it has been invited to attend. China has been in talks with the Taliban over plans, begun under the previous foreign-backed government, over a possible huge copper mine in eastern Afghanistan. Officials from China, the Taliban and neighbouring Pakistan said in May they would like Belt and Road to include Afghanistan and for the flagship China Pakistan Economic Corridor to be extended across the border to Afghanistan. China has boosted engagement with the Taliban, becoming the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul since the Taliban took power, and invested in mining projects.

Persons: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Wang Yu, Ali Khara, Xi, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, Azizi, Akhundzada, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte, Joe Cash, William Mallard Organizations: Afghan, REUTERS, Rights, China Pakistan Economic, Taliban, Thomson Locations: China, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Rights KABUL, Beijing, Pakistan, China Pakistan, Charlotte Greenfield, Islamabad

☆ Malaysia says Goldman Sachs suit 'premature' amid dispute over 1MDB settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Olivia Harris/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Reuters) - A Malaysian government task force said on Thursday it viewed Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) filing of arbitration proceedings as premature, after the firm sued Malaysia in a British court this week amid an escalating dispute over a 2020 settlement deal. Goldman Sachs in 2020 had agreed to pay $3.9 billion to settle Malaysia's criminal probe over its role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB corruption scandal. Malayia's 1MDB task force said Goldman Sachs had requested an extension on a Nov. 8 deadline for discussions to settle the dispute. Goldman Sachs lodged its suit less than two months after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim threatened to take the company to court. Goldman had helped 1MDB raise $6.5 billion in two bond offerings, earning itself $600 million in fees, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Persons: Olivia Harris, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Malayia's, Johari Abdul Ghani, Johari, Anwar Ibrahim, Rozanna Latiff, Martin Petty, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Development, Exchange, REUTERS, Malaysia, Malaysian, U.S . Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysian, U.S

☆ Malaysia denies Goldman Sachs' allegations in 1MDB arbitration suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Goldman Sachs logo is seen on at the New York Stock Exchange on September 13, 2022 in New York City. The Malaysian government on Thursday denied allegations by Goldman Sachs that it had breached a settlement deal over the U.S. bank's role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB corruption scandal, after the firm sued Malaysia in a British court. Goldman Sachs in 2020 had agreed to pay $3.9 billion to settle Malaysia's criminal probe over its role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB corruption scandal. Earlier, Malaysia's 1MDB task force said Goldman Sachs' move to sue in a London arbitration court was "premature". Goldman Sachs lodged its suit less than two months after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim threatened to take the company to court.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Chambers, Johari Abdul Ghani, Johari, Anwar Ibrahim Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Malaysian, U.S, Malaysia, Malaysia's, U.S . Justice Department Locations: New York City, Malaysia, London, Malaysian, U.S

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A senior Taliban delegation was visiting western Afghanistan’s Herat province on Monday in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that killed at least 2,000 people over the weekend and flattened entire villages, a statement said. Aid agencies and nongovernmental groups have appealed for the international community to come forward but only a handful of countries have publicly offered support, including neighboring China and Pakistan. “CARE is deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that struck the western province of Herat," said Reshma Azmi, the group's deputy director for Afghanistan. "This comes less than seven months after another powerful earthquake hit the country, leaving thousands homeless and displaced.”Azimi was referring to the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in March that struck much of Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. In neighboring Pakistan, the government held a special session to review aid for Afghanistan, including relief teams, food items and medicines, as well as tents and blankets.

Persons: —, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Reshma Azmi, Azimi, “, ”, Thamindri de Silva, Irfanullah Organizations: Taliban, Geological Survey, Aid, CARE USA, CARE International, CARE, Afghan Red Crescent Society Locations: ISLAMABAD, Herat, Kabul, The U.S, Afghanistan, Israel, Gaza, China, Pakistan

☆ Taliban's central-bank governor meets Chinese envoy to discuss banking ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File photoJune 16 (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting governor of the Afghan central bank met China's ambassador this week to discuss banking relations and business, the bank's spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. Afghanistan's banking system has been severely hampered by U.S.-led sanctions, a drop in liquidity from frozen central bank assets and a cut in development spending. Regulatory risk concerns of international banks have also largely cut off the country's formal banking sector from the global financial system. "China has always supported the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan, provides sincere help to Afghanistan, and welcomes Afghanistan to join the Belt and Road Initiative," it said. Badri is a senior Taliban figure who became acting head of the central bank in March after stepping down as acting finance minister.

Persons: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Wang Yu, Ali Khara, Hassibullah Noori, Mullah Hidayatullah Badri, Badri, Charlotte Greenfield, Laurie Chen, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Afghan, REUTERS, U.S, Reuters, Initiative, Thomson Locations: China, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan, Beijing, Taliban, Islamabad

☆ Taliban plans to turn former foreign bases into special economic zones
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohammad IsmailKABUL, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Taliban administration will move ahead with plans to turn former foreign military bases into special economic zones for businesses, the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs said in a statement on Sunday. "Following a thorough discussion, it was decided that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should progressively take control of the remaining military bases of the foreign forces with the intention of converting them into special economic zones," Mullah Baradar said in the statement. He added a pilot plan would begin to convert bases in the capital Kabul and in northern Balkh province. Afghanistan's economy has struggled and aid agencies are warning of a severe humanitarian crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021 as foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of war. The Taliban have said they are focused on boosting economic self-sufficiency through trade and investment.

CNN —The ruling Taliban has signed a deal with a Chinese company to extract oil from northern Afghanistan’s Amu Darya basin as the radical Islamist group attempts to bolster the South Asian nation’s increasingly impoverished and isolated economy. The agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co is the first major international energy extraction deal the Taliban has signed since taking control of Afghanistan in 2021. Baradar referred to the deal as being in Afghanistan’s best interests, adding that it would strengthen the country’s economy, the statement said. In December, the UN suspended some of its “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s ban on female NGO workers. The Taliban last month also suspended university education for all female students in Afghanistan, drawing condemnation from around the world.

☆ Taliban publicly execute man accused of murder, senior officials attend
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Taliban administration on Wednesday put to death a man accused of murder in western Afghanistan, its spokesperson said, in the first officially confirmed public execution since the group took over the country last year. The execution in western Farah province was of a man accused of stabbing another man to death in 2017, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, and was attended by senior officials of the group. The execution was carried out by the father of the victim, who shot the man three times, Mujahid added in a later statement. More than a dozen senior Taliban officials attended the execution, Mujahid said, including acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, and acting deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, as well as the country's chief justice, acting foreign minister and acting education minister. Public lashings and executions by stoning took place under the previous 1996-2001 rule of the Taliban.

☆ Malaysia heads to the polls on November 19
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Malaysia will hold a general election on Nov. 19, its election commission said on Thursday, in a contest that the ruling graft-tainted party hopes would strengthen its hold on power. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament on Oct. 10th and called for snap polls, saying an election would end years of political instability. Candidates will have to file their nomination to be a lawmaker on Nov. 5, commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh told a news conference. The polls come earlier than the September 2023 deadline and during the annual monsoon season that has already triggered floods across Malaysia and is expected to affect voter turnout. The party or coalition that wins a simple majority — 112 seats — would form the next government.

☆ Talibanii vor un „sistem islamic adevărat” în Afganistan, după retragerea trupelor străine
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-20 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +2 min

Sursa foto: Profimedia ImagesTalibanii vor un „sistem islamic adevărat” în Afganistan, după retragerea trupelor străineTalibanii afirmă că sunt dispuși să continue discuțiile de pace în Afganistan, unde doresc adoptarea unui „sistem islamic adevărat", în care drepturile femeilor să fie aliniate cu normele culturale și religioase, scrie Reuters. „Înțelegem că atât mapamondul, cât și afganii au doleanțe și întrebări despre forma sistemului care va fi adoptat după retragerea trupelor străine", a declarat mullahul Abdul Ghani Baradar, șeful delegației politice a talibanilor. „Un sistem islamic adevărat este cea mai bună soluție pentru toate problemele afganilor. Mullahul a mai adăugat că femeile și minoritățile vor fi protejate, iar diplomații și reprezentanții ONG-urilor vor putea lucra în siguranță. În luna mai, serviciile americane de informații au dat publicității o evaluare potrivit căreia talibanii "vor da înapoi mare parte" din progresele înregistrate în domeniul drepturilor femeii în Afganistan dacă regimul islamist extremist revine la putere.

Persons: Reuters, Abdul Ghani, Mullahul Locations: Afganistan, Qatar, afgan, Statele Unite

☆ Afganistanul lansează prima etapă de vaccinare împotriva poliomielitei din 2021
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-18 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Circa 65.000 de angajaţi din domeniul sanitar sunt repartizaţi pentru implementarea campaniei pe o perioadă de cinci zile, a precizat un responsabil de PR al campaniei, Mir Jan Rasikh.Anul trecut, 3,4 milioane de copii au fost privaţi de vaccin în această ţară devastată de război, şi, prin urmare, cel puţin 56 de copii au fost depistaţi cu poliomielită.Militanţii talibani nu permit accesul angajaţilor din domeniul sanitar în zonele aflate sub controlul lor pentru a desfăşura campanii din uşă în uşă şi susţin că în trecut campania a fost folosită pentru a strânge informaţii în unele provincii.Duminică, liderul adjunct al talibanilor Mullahul Abdul Ghani Baradar s-a întâlnit cu şefii OMS şi UNICEF pentru Asia de Sud în Qatar, unde au discutat despre vaccinarea împotriva poliomielitei şi altor boli transmisibile.Nu este însă clar dacă militanţii au fost de acord să permită campaniile din uşă în uşă în zonele aflate sub controlul lor.Oficialii avertizează că lipsa accesului va priva din nou de vaccin circa 3 milioane de copii.Poliomielita, o boală infecţioasă mortală produsă de virusul poliomielitic, a fost eradicată în restul lumii, dar continuă să se manifeste în Afganistan şi Pakistan (ţară care a lansat o campanie similară de vaccinare), scri agerpres.ro.

Persons: Mir Jan Rasikh.Anul, Abdul Ghani Organizations: Mir, OMS, UNICEF Locations: uşă, Asia de Sud, Qatar, Afganistan, Pakistan

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