WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday hailed a “historic peace treaty” finalized by Armenia and Azerbaijan and called on both sides to follow through.
“This is an opportunity for both countries to turn the page on a decades old conflict,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Now is the time to commit to peace, sign and ratify the treaty, and usher in a new era of prosperity for the people of the South Caucasus,” he added.
Azerbaijan and Armenia said Thursday that they had wrapped up talks aimed at resolving the Caucasus neighbors’ decades-long conflict, with both sides agreeing on the text of a possible treaty.
A deal to normalize ties would be a major breakthrough in a region where Russia, the European Union, the United States and Turkiye all jostle for influence.
US hails ‘historic peace treaty’ between Armenia, Azerbaijan
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US hails ‘historic peace treaty’ between Armenia, Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijan and Armenia said Thursday that they had wrapped up talks aimed at resolving the Caucasus neighbors’ decades-long conflict
Bangladesh passes new women, child protection law after rape and death of 8-year-old
- 8-year-old victim died after battling for her life for almost a week in hospital
- New law halves investigation and trial time, removes DNA test requirement
DHAKA: Bangladesh passed a new law on Thursday, expediting the investigation and trial process in rape cases. The move follows nationwide outrage after an eight-year-old girl was raped and subsequently died from her injuries.
The girl, from Magura in southwestern Bangladesh, was staying at the house of her elder sister-in-law when the incident took place in early March. She was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka in a critical condition and died six days later.
The news of her death sparked protests across the country. As her body was taken for burial in Magura, thousands of people gathered in the city to participate in her funeral prayers.
An absentee funeral was also held for her at Dhaka University, followed by a protest march.
The incident resulted in mounting pressure on the government to reform laws related to rape and the safety of women and children.
The first law to be amended was the Women and Children Repression Prevention Ordinance, which was passed by Bangladesh’s Advisory Council — the highest institution of its interim government led by Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus.
“To ensure speedy trial and punishment of rape suspects, this reform was necessary. It will also help in ensuring proper investigation,” Azad Majumder, the chief adviser’s deputy press secretary, told Arab News.
The new law reduces the investigation period of rape cases from 30 days to 15 days and the time for completing the trial from 180 days to 90 days.
Under the law, a special tribunal will be dedicated to handling child rape cases.
Judges will also be allowed to proceed with trials based on medical certificates and circumstantial evidence without requiring DNA tests. The tests were previously mandatory for the trial to begin, even though samples were not always available as it often takes time for victims or their families to register a case.
“Earlier, the trial process had to wait for the DNA profiling report of the accused. But now the trial can begin based on circumstantial evidence,” Majumder said.
The rape of minors is punishable by death in Bangladesh.
More than 5,600 reports of the rape of girls aged below 18 were filed across the country in the past 10 years, according to data from Ain o Salish Kendra — a key women and children’s group in Bangladesh. However, the numbers are unlikely to reflect reality as many victims do not report the crime.
Part of the problem, according to advocate Elina Khan from the Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation, is the slow response by police.
“The investigation process demands extra care and attention. Sometimes, our police stations don’t respond immediately to rape cases. If their responses were quick, evidence collection would be easier and investigation would also take less time,” she told Arab News.
“Authorities should also improve logistical preparations in court, especially to protect the child from emotional distress and psychological harm during the hearing. The child should be brought to court with care, considering the psychological impact on the victim.”
She said she also expected more accountability from law enforcement officials if the new law was to have any effect.
“The ordinance doesn’t say anything about what will happen if an investigation officer fails to complete the investigation process within the guided timeframe. Investigators should be held accountable for failing to investigate within the time,” Khan said.
“We have the appropriate human resources in this regard. We just need to engage them all. If we can ensure the proper application of the law, monitoring from the authority and accountability of the responsible persons, justice can be swiftly delivered.”
Bangladesh passes new women, child protection law after rape and death of 8-year-old
- Eight-year-old girl died after battling for her life for almost a week in hospital
- New law halves investigation and trial time, removes DNA test requirement
DHAKA: Bangladesh passed on Thursday a new law expediting the investigation and trial process in rape cases, following nationwide outrage after the rape of an eight-year-old girl who died of her injuries.
The girl from Magura was staying at the house of her elder sister’s in-laws, when the incident took place in early March. She was admitted to hospital in critical condition to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, where she died after six days.
The news of her death last week set off protests across the country. As her body was taken for burial in Magura, thousands of people gathered in the city to participate in her funeral prayers.
An absentee funeral was also held for her at Dhaka University, followed by a protest march.
The incident resulted in mounting pressure on the government to reform laws related to rape, and women and children’s safety.
The first law to be amended was the Women and Children Repression Prevention Ordinance, which was passed by Bangladesh’s Advisory Council — the highest institution of its interim government led by Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus.
“To ensure speedy trial and punishment of rape suspects, this reform was necessary. It will also help in ensuring proper investigation,” Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary of the chief adviser, told Arab News.
The new law reduces the investigation period of rape cases from 30 days to 15 days and the time for completing the trial from 180 days to 90 days.
Under the law, a special tribunal will be dedicated to handling child rape cases.
Judges will also be allowed to proceed with trials based on medical certificates and circumstantial evidence, without requiring DNA tests, which were previously mandatory for the trial to begin, even though samples were not always available, as it often takes time for victims or their families to register a case.
“Earlier, the trial process had to wait for the DNA profiling report of the accused. But now the trial can begin based on circumstantial evidence,” Majumder said.
The rape of minors is punishable by death in Bangladesh.
More than 5,600 reports of rape of girls aged below 18 were filed across the country in the past 10 years, according to data from Ain o Salish Kendra — a main women’s and children’s group in Bangladesh.
The numbers are unlikely to reflect the reality as many victims do not report the crime.
Part of the problem, according to advocate Elina Khan from the Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation, is the slow response of the police.
“The investigation process demands extra care and attention. Sometimes, our police stations don’t respond immediately to rape cases. If their responses were quick, evidence collection would be easier, and investigation would also take less time,” she told Arab News.
“Authorities should also improve logistical preparations in court, especially to protect the child from emotional distress and psychological harm during the hearing. The child should be brought to court with care, considering the psychological impact on the victim.”
She was also expecting more accountability from law enforces for the new law to have an actual effect.
“The ordinance doesn’t say anything about what will happen if an investigation officer fails to complete the investigation process within the guided timeframe. Investigators should be held accountable for failing to investigate within the time,” Khan said.
“We have the appropriate human resources in this regard. We just need to engage them all. If we can ensure the proper application of the law, monitoring from the authority and accountability of the responsible persons, justice can be swiftly delivered.”
Captive Ukrainians address Russian court in emotional statements
- Moscow has also taken an unknown number of civilians into Russia from occupied Ukrainian territory
- “I have never served in the Ukrainian army, I served in the Soviet army, more than 30 years ago,” Oleg Zharkov, whom prosecutors want to jail for 19.5 years, told the court
WARSAW: Four Ukrainian men taken captive by Russia at the start of its invasion gave emotional statements in court this week as they faced massive sentences for “seizure of power” and terrorism, Russian media reported Thursday.
Two of the four left the Ukrainian army years before Moscow launched its full-scale attack in 2022, while another had never taken up arms, according to the Mediazona news outlet.
On top of taking thousands of Ukrainian troops captive since launching its 2022 attack, Moscow has also taken an unknown number of civilians into Russia from occupied Ukrainian territory.
“I have never served in the Ukrainian army, I served in the Soviet army, more than 30 years ago,” Oleg Zharkov, whom prosecutors want to jail for 19.5 years, told the court, according to a transcript published by the Mediazona website Thursday.
“It’s no secret that in any military unit not only soldiers work but electricians, plumbers, handymen... People like me.”
The four spoke at a military court in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don late Wednesday, most of whom were captured during the 2022 siege of Mariupol.
All of them served in Ukraine’s Azov battalion — banned in Russia — at various points in time, some of whom worked in civilian roles supporting the army such as cooks or plumbers.
They are among 24 accused of taking part in a terrorist organization and trying to overthrow Russian authorities — despite not living in Russian territory before their arrest. Two of the other 20 were exchanged in prisoner swaps, while one died in custody last year.
Oleksandr Mukhin, facing 22 years, served in the Azov battalion for a year between 2017 and 2018.
“I’m a former serviceman, let’s start from that,” he said. He was working as a security guard when Moscow attacked.
He said he was taken from his home in Mariupol in March 2022 by “some people, beaten, put a sack on my head and taken away.”
“On Russophobia... How can I criticize someone for speaking Russian when I’m a Russian speaker?“
Soldier Mykyta Tymonin said he had seen torture in custody.
“Sitting in Rostov, you do not feel that there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, and in Ukraine people feel it: many people die, children. Many families are forced to go abroad,” he said.
Anatoliy Grytsyk said he had been a soldier his whole professional life and served in Bosnia, Kuwait and Kosovo.
He said his wife had been “shot in the street in front of him.”
“I cannot tell people what I feel, what I went through, what your country did to mine,” he said.
“God forbid you ever feel this.”
First-time asylum applications in EU fall 13 percent in 2024, Eurostat says
- Eurostat reported 912,000 first-time asylum requests from non-EU citizens
- Syrians made up the largest share of applicants
KYIV: First-time applications from people seeking asylum in European Union countries fell by 13 percent last year, the first decline in them since 2020, data from the bloc’s statistics office Eurostat showed on Thursday.
Eurostat reported 912,000 first-time asylum requests from non-EU citizens across the bloc’s 27 member states, down from more than 1 million in 2023.
Syrians made up the largest share of applicants, like every year since 2013, accounting for 16 percent of the first-time requests last year. The next biggest groups came from Venezuela and Afghanistan, accounting for 8 percent each.
Eurostat said nearly 148,000 first-time applications came from Syria in 2024, down 19.2 percent from a year earlier.
Of the total number of applications for international protection in EU countries, more than three quarters were received by Germany, Spain, Italy and France. Unaccompanied minors made up 3.9 percent of the applicants, Eurostat said.
Indian forces kill 30 Maoist rebels, one soldier dead
- An Indian paramilitary soldier was also killed in one of two separate skirmishes
- Another four rebels were killed in a separate clash in the state’s south
NEW DELHI: Indian forces killed at least 30 Maoist rebels Thursday in one of the deadliest jungle clashes since the government ramped up efforts to crush the long-running insurgency.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long “Naxalite” rebellion, whose members say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized people in India’s resource-rich central regions.
An Indian paramilitary soldier was also killed in one of two separate skirmishes that broke out in central Chhattisgarh state, both of which carried on through the day, according to police.
Bastar Inspector General of Police Sundarraj Pattilingam told AFP that the soldier had been killed during a skirmish that broke out in Bijapur district, where 26 guerrillas had also been killed.
Another four rebels were killed in a separate clash in the state’s south.
Searches at both battle sites saw security forces recovering caches of arms and ammunition from both areas.
“The (Narendra) Modi government is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxalites and is adopting a zero tolerance policy against those Naxalites who are not surrendering,” interior minister Amit Shah wrote on social media platform X.
The rebels, known as Naxalites after the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, were inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
Shah has repeatedly vowed that India’s government would crush the remnants of the rebellion by the end of March next year.
A crackdown by security forces killed around 287 rebels last year, an overwhelming majority of them in Chhattisgarh, according to government data.
More than 80 Maoists had already been killed so far this year, according to a tally on Sunday by the Press Trust of India news agency.
The Maoists demand land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for local residents.
They made inroads in a number of remote communities across India’s east and south, and the movement gained in strength and numbers until the early 2000s.
New Delhi then deployed tens of thousands of troops in a stretch of territory known as the “Red Corridor.”
The conflict has also seen scores of deadly attacks on government forces. A roadside bomb killed at least nine Indian troops in January.
