MOSCOW: The United Nations Security Council condemned the deadly attack that targeted churches and synagogues on Sunday in the predominantly Muslim region of Dagestan in Russia, according to a statement on Wednesday.
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist,” the statement said.
Russia’s southern region of Dagestan ended three days of mourning Wednesday following an attack by militants who authorities say killed 21 people, mostly police, and attacked Christian and Jewish houses of worship in assaults in two cities.
Sunday’s violence in Dagestan’s regional capital of Makhachkala and nearby Derbent was the latest that officials blamed on extremists in the predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucasus. It was also the deadliest in Russia since March, when gunmen opened fire at a concert in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people.
UN Security Council condemns attack in Russia’s Dagestan
https://arab.news/9qmh7
UN Security Council condemns attack in Russia’s Dagestan
- Russia’s southern region of Dagestan ended three days of mourning Wednesday following an attack by militants who authorities say killed 21 people, mostly police
Russia, African juntas blast Ukraine as they deepen ties
- Moscow has tried to build new partnerships in Africa, where it has been growing in influence in recent years, including militarily
- Foreign ministers from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow for the summit
MOSCOW: Russia and a group of west African countries led by military juntas hailed growing military ties at a summit in Moscow on Thursday, with some condemning Ukraine as a “terrorist” state.
Facing isolation in the West following its full-scale offensive against Ukraine, Moscow has tried to build new partnerships in Africa, where it has been growing in influence in recent years, including militarily.
Foreign ministers from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow for the summit, which Lavrov said would “strengthen the whole suite” of their relations.
The three Sahelian countries are led by juntas who seized power in coups and have turned away from former colonial power France while moving closer to Russia, which has been sending mercenaries to help them fight a transnational jihadist insurgency.
Lavrov said Russia was ready to help “strengthen the three countries’ combat capability” and train soldiers and law enforcement officers.
He added that Moscow could help the countries form a joint armed force “by organizing special courses, by using instructors who are already working in large numbers in the countries” and by “supplying military production.”
Mali’s Abdoulaye Diop said that Mali and Russia shared views on “fighting against terrorism.”
“We consider Ukraine as simply a terrorist state,” the minister said at a press conference.
Mali last year broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing a senior Ukrainian official of having admitted Kyiv played a role in a heavy defeat suffered by Malian troops.
Niger then joined Mali in cutting diplomatic ties, accusing Kyiv of supporting “terrorist groups.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Thursday rejected claims it had interfered in Mali’s affairs as “baseless,” and suggested Diop’s comments were unserious given he “represents an illegitimate junta that usurped power.”
Moscow has concluded defense agreements with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and supplied them with military equipment.
UK watchdog announces probe into Prince Harry charity
- The watchdog added that it would be examining whether the charity’s current and former trustees had “fulfilled their duties and responsibilities under charity law“
- The row at Sentebale escalated on Sunday after its chairperson Sophie Chandauka accused the prince of “bullying“
LONDON: The UK’s charity watchdog on Thursday opened a probe into Sentebale, the African organization co-founded by Prince Harry, after a bitter boardroom row led King Charles III’s younger son to step down as patron.
“After a period of assessing the initial concerns raised with the Commission, the regulator informed the charity on 2 April 2025 it has opened a regulatory compliance case,” the Charity Commission said in a statement.
The watchdog added that it would be examining whether the charity’s current and former trustees had “fulfilled their duties and responsibilities under charity law.”
The row at Sentebale escalated on Sunday after its chairperson Sophie Chandauka accused the prince of “bullying” and being involved in a “cover up.”
Earlier, Harry and Sentebale’s co-founder, Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso, announced their departure from the charity they established in 2006, following a “devastating” dispute between trustees and Chandauka.
Relations with Chandauka, who was appointed in 2023, “broke down beyond repair,” they said in a joint statement last week, prompting trustees to leave and demand that Chandauka resign.
Harry founded the charity in honor of his mother, Princess Diana, with Seeiso to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and later Botswana.
The latest accusations are a fresh blow for the prince, who kept up only a handful of his private patronages including with Sentebale after a dramatic split with the British royals in 2020.
While Harry was integral to the founding vision of the charity, to which he once said he was “committed for the rest of my life,” Chandauka has said “Sentebale has a future” beyond the prince.
Harry chose the name Sentebale as a tribute to Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 when the prince was just 12. It means “forget me not” in the Sesotho language and is also used to say goodbye.
Thousands of innovators gather in New Delhi for India’s largest startup event
- With 160,000 startups, India is world’s third-largest startup ecosystem after US, China
- Startup Mahakumbh 2025 focuses on AI, cybersecurity, health, energy, gaming, space tech
NEW DELHI: India’s largest startup event began in New Delhi on Thursday, bringing together thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders from across the country and abroad.
Dubbed Startup Mahakumbh, the expo is organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, and the Indian government’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
Around 3,000 startups are participating in the three-day event at Bharat Mandapam — the venue of the 2023 G20 summit — where they are presenting their innovations across sectors including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, health, biotechnology, energy, gaming, finance, mobility, defense, agri tech and space tech.
Jitin Prasada, the minister of state for commerce, industry, electronics and IT, opened the expo, saying that India had strong policies in place to support the development of the startup ecosystem.
“India is ready for the challenge. We have the talent, we have the skills. We have an agile government,” he told the participants.
“We’re going to showcase to the world what India is about. Together with the government, the stakeholders, and you above all in front of me, together we will collaborate, work for a better, stronger, creative, and more vibrant India.”
The number of companies participating in Startup Mahakumbh has doubled from its inaugural edition last year. It will also feature exhibitors and delegates from 50 countries, compared with about a dozen in 2024.
Sanjiv Singh, joint secretary at the DPIIT, told reporters: “At one end we will have a flying taxi made in India on display; at the other we have countries like Korea setting up a pavilion of 11 startups, and Nepal putting up the largest pavilion with one of its startups showcasing a two-stage rocket powered by sustainable hybrid propulsion rocket engines.
“The event will be a great opportunity to connect and collaborate.”
India has about 160,000 registered startups, according to DPIIT data. Among these, more than 100 have achieved unicorn status, which means they are valued at $1 billion or more.
With the rapid growth in the sector over the past few years — from 500 DPIIT-recognized startups in 2016 and fewer than 10 unicorns — India has emerged as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, after the US and China.
Rajesh Nambiar, president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, said: “We also witnessed tech startup IPOs triple in 2024 compared to 2023, so that’s a lot of momentum. It’s not just about the rising momentum. It is compounding year on year, which gives us the confidence that this is going to be something which will be a huge differentiator for us as a nation.
“Last year we added the second highest number of unicorns globally, which is a huge testimony for India as a country. Also in 2024, the tech sector contributed a staggering $283 billion in terms of the broader contribution, and this accounts roughly for about 7.3 percent of GDP.”
The development of tech-based startups, Nambiar told the Startup Mahakumbh audience, will drive India’s technological sovereignty.
“For India to be truly emerging as a developed nation, we must achieve this tech sovereignty; a future where we are not just users of technology, but we are actually creators and builders of technology or transformative technology as we move forward,” he said.
“This also means that we are leading in patents, not just platforms; we would be shaping standards, not just following them. We are going to be owning IP (intellectual property) that drives global progress, and the deep tech ecosystem will be the fulcrum of this transformation.”
Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash
- Tesla’s sales have been slowing worldwide as Musk faces anger over his role overseeing cuts to the federal workforce
- Musk has faced particular hostility in Germany after he vocally backed the far-right Alternative for Germany
FRANKFURT: Tesla sales plunged again in Germany last month even as the broader electric car market rebounded, data showed Thursday, the latest sign of a growing backlash against billionaire owner Elon Musk.
Just 2,229 of Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in March, about 43 percent fewer compared with the same period last year, the KBA federal transport authority said.
Overall electric vehicle registrations rose 35.5 percent in Germany year-on-year as sales continue to rebound from very low levels seen in early 2024.
Like elsewhere in Europe, EV sales slowed in Germany last year against a weak economic backdrop, with the situation worsened in the region’s biggest auto market by the withdrawal of government subsidies.
Tesla’s sales have been slowing worldwide as Musk faces anger over his role overseeing cuts to the federal workforce in US President Donald Trump’s administration, and due to factory upgrades.
But he has faced particular hostility in Germany after he vocally backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) — which is shunned by mainstream parties — ahead of February elections.
Some German Tesla drivers have put “I bought this before Elon Went crazy” stickers on their vehicles, Teslas have been targeted in suspected arson attacks in Berlin and Dresden, and protesters have staged demonstrations against the carmaker.
Over the first three months of the year Tesla registrations fell a whopping 62.2 percent compared to the same period in 2024, the KBA said.
Overall in March, the number of new vehicle registrations in Germany fell to 253,497, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, the latest sign of weakness in the market.
German auto manufacturers are now facing another headache after Trump slapped 25-percent tariffs on car imports into the United States.
Eid break brings Indonesian capital respite from notoriously polluted air
- Millions of people traveled to their hometowns for Eid, leaving streets of the capital empty
- Jakarta regularly records above 100 air quality index and ‘unhealthy’ levels of PM 2.5
JAKARTA: The long Eid Al-Fitr break in commercial activities has cleared the skies over Indonesia’s notoriously polluted capital, offering a respite for residents who throughout the year are regularly exposed to some of the world’s most toxic air.
The Jakarta metropolitan area — home to about 31 million people — recorded “good” and “moderate” air on Thursday afternoon, with an air quality index reading between 22 and 76, according to data released by the Ministry of Environment.
The numbers showed a marked improvement for a city that regularly records above 100 AQI and “unhealthy” levels of PM 2.5, a measurement of particulate matter — solid and liquid particles suspended in the air that can be inhaled and cause respiratory diseases.
“These ‘good’ and ‘moderate’ levels of air quality are possibly due to a drop in public activities during Eid holidays, as there has been a marked decrease in transportation and industrial activities in the city,” Edward Nixon Pakpahan, air quality protection and management director at the ministry, told Arab News.
“We are working to keep the air quality index for Jakarta metropolitan area below 100.”
Jakarta residents have long complained about the health risks posed by persistent air pollution from heavy traffic, industrial emissions and coal-fired power plants, which have consistently placed Jakarta among the 10 most polluted cities globally.
The streets of Jakarta and its satellite cities have been mostly empty since last weekend, after millions of people traveled back to their hometowns for Eid holidays.
Across the city, those who did not travel for Eid have been making the most of the rare good weather and clear skies.
“I love it. The sky is blue and the weather isn’t miserable or scorching hot,” Jodi Baskoro, a 40-year-old office worker based in Jakarta, told Arab News.
“It’s such great weather for those who are making their way around Jakarta to visit their families for Eid.”
