“China can never be trusted”: Member of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile condemns China’s expansionist policy



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Condemning China for incorporating Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in its new map, Member of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Dawa Tsering, said, “China can never be trusted.”

China on Monday released the 2023 edition of its “standard map,” which shows the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region as part of its territory.

“China always says that it wants friendship with you but China’s malice is concealed behind its sweet talk. Never trust Chna and its leaders, because they can never be anybody’s friends,” Tsering told ANI.

”Xi Jinping should never-ever be trusted,” he stressed.

He also urged, “All South Asian countries to stand against the Chinese expansionist policy. It has to be condemned.”

Another Tibetan MP in exile, Yeshi Dolma called China’s act “provocative”.

She said that China wants to provoke India ahead of the G20 Summit next month.

“China illegally invaded Tibet in 1959, and now it is trying to encroach the border of neighbouring country India,” Dolma told ANI.

The two Tibetan MPs in exile made these remarks while interacting with ANI during the Jammu chapter of their visits to different Indian states. A delegation of 11 Tibetan MPs in exile is on an India tour, visiting leaders and intellects of different states to make them aware of the situation in Tibet.

In Jammu, they also met with strategic analyst, Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma, who also expressed his opinion on China’s expansionist policy and called the new ‘standard map’ of China, “absolutely wrong”.

“China is an expansionist country and its first example is Tibet which was an independent kingdom and was captured by China in 1950. After that China started spreading all around and they came to Aksai Chin as well….now they are spreading their legs everywhere in Taiwan,” Lt Gen Sharma told ANI.

“This is absolutely wrong. All historical records show that Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh along with McMahon line, were given to India,” he said.

He also said that China wants to come and sit in Tibet because it “wants to put a tight knot over our Himalayas, over our necks”.

Meanwhile, India has lodged a strong protest against China, while rejecting claims made by Beijing in the so-called “standard map”.

The Ministry of External Affairs has said that China has no basis to claim India’s territory, adding that such steps from the Chinese side would only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.

In response to media queries on Tuesday, MEA Official Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said: “We have today lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with the Chinese side on the so-called 2023 ‘standard map’ of China that lays claim to India’s territory.”

“We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question,” he added.

The map released on August 28 by Beijing shows Arunachal Pradesh which China claims as South Tibet and Aksai Chin occupied by it in the 1962 war as part of its territory. The map also stakes claim over Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea.

The map also incorporates China’s claims over the nine-dash line thus laying claim to a large part of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have all claims over the South China Sea areas.

It was released by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources during the celebration of Surveying and Mapping Publicity Day and the National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week on Monday in Deqing County, Zhejiang province, as per China Daily newspaper.

This is not the first time that Beijing has employed such tactics.

In April this year, China had unilaterally “renamed” as many as 11 Indian locations, which included names of mountain peaks, rivers and residential areas. (ANI)

 

   

India has allowed onion export to 6 countries including Bangladesh



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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India has approved the export of 99 thousand 150 tons of onions to 6 countries including Bangladesh. Other countries are - United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

This information was given on the website of the Government of India on Saturday (April 27).

It said onion exports were banned to ensure domestic supply due to lower kharif and rabi seasons in the country in 2023-24 compared to the previous year. This increases the demand in the international market. Indian agency National Cooperation Exports Limited (NCEL) exports onions to these countries. They procure onions from internal sources through e-platform at lowest price (L1). Then, on a 100% advance payment basis, the rates are negotiated and supplied to the agencies or government-designated agencies in the destination countries.

NCEL fixes the prices with the buyers taking into consideration the prices of the countries where onion is bought, international and domestic prices. Now the quotas are allocated according to the demand of the countries where onion export is allowed.

Maharashtra is the largest onion producer in India. They are the largest supplier of onions to NCEL for export.

Earlier, Bangladesh had sent a formal letter to the Indian government to allow the export of certain quantities of onion to reduce the price of onion in the country's market during the holy month of Ramadan.

In addition, the country's government has allowed the export of additional 2000 metric tons of white onion. These onions are mainly exported to Middle East and some European countries. Due to the high production cost of white onion, its price is relatively high.

India is the world's largest onion exporter. The country's government had imposed a ban on onion exports till March 31, 2024 in December last year to maintain supply in the domestic market. Later it was extended indefinitely. The new decision to export onions is good news for India's friendly countries.

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We are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh: Pakistan PM



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Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised the economic progress of Bangladesh and said that they are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh.

According to a report by Pakistan-based media Dawn on Thursday (April 25), Shahbaz Sharif said this in a view exchange meeting with business representatives at the Sindh Chief Minister's residence in Karachi on Wednesday (April 24).

He said that before independence, Bangladesh i.e. East Pakistan at that time was considered a burden to the country. But they have made tremendous progress in the growth of industrialization.

Shahbaz Sharif said, I was very young when...we were told that it was a burden on our shoulders. Today you all know where that burden has reached (in terms of economic growth). And now when we look at them, we feel ashamed.

Currently, Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan in almost all indicators of the socio-economic sector.

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Mass arrests could not stop anti-Israel protests at American universities



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US universities have erupted in protest over Israel's military operation in the Palestinian-besieged Gaza. This pro-Palestinian movement is being suppressed even after mass arrests. Rather, as the days go by, the protests are spreading.

The news agency Reuters reported that police made mass arrests at Atlanta's Emory University amid protests. A graduation ceremony at the University of Southern California was canceled due to the protests.

Emory University officials said protesters not affiliated with the college entered campus grounds early Thursday morning. When they refused to leave, the police used chemical spray to disperse them.

According to CBS News, about 108 people were arrested at Emerson College in the city on Wednesday night local time. Earlier in the evening, 93 people were taken into police custody from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

Anti-Israel protests have spread to dozens of US universities within a week of starting at New York's Columbia University.

Meanwhile, a clash between protesters and police took place at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Later, authorities said that 34 people were arrested from there. These new arrests came after massive arrests of protesters at Columbia, Yale and New York universities.

Students gathered Wednesday (April 24) to protest at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park. At this time they were stopped by the riot police. Protesters were told to leave within 10 minutes by an announcement from a police helicopter. However, the students who remained at the scene were arrested for trespassing.

The protests at the University of Southern California were reportedly peaceful at first. Later the tension spread with the presence of the police. Protesters threw water bottles at the police when they tried to arrest a woman. At this time, they kept shouting slogans - 'Let him go'. Besides, they surrounded the police officers and shouted slogans like 'I want the liberation of Palestine'.

It should be noted that on October 7, the Palestinian independence organization Hamas entered Israeli territory and carried out an ambush. 1200 people were killed. Because of this, since that day, the Israeli forces continue to attack Gaza indiscriminately. 34 thousand 305 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip in the attack that lasted for more than six months. Apart from this, there is a severe humanitarian crisis due to lack of food, water and medical equipment.

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Iran is cracking down on women who don't wear Hijab



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Iran is cracking down on women and girls who don't wear Hijab. The country has started a new campaign named 'Noor' from last April 13. Since then, the implementation of the Hijab law has started to become stricter.

Iran has strict laws on wearing the Hijab. Strict action is taken against those who break this law.

Some videos of women being assaulted have gone viral on social media. In them, it is seen that women who go out without Hijab are forcibly picked up in cars by the members of the 'Morality Police'.

A video shows a mother and daughter walking through Tehran's busiest square in the capital. At that time, they were surrounded by five female and two male members of the police. When they tried to evade arrest, they were violently beaten and taken into a car.

Dina Ghalibaf, a female student at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, wrote on the micro-blogging site X that she was barred from boarding the metro. When she insisted, she was taken to a room. She claimed that she was beaten and sexually harassed there.

The student was arrested a day after making such a post and taken to Evin prison.

British newspaper The Guardian spoke to some of those arrested. One of them told the media that eight members of the police surrounded her last Saturday. At that time, she was called "prostitute", "naked American prostitute" and insulted her. Apart from this, the young woman claimed that men also touched her during the arrest.



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