China should pressure Taliban in two ways, Afghanistan’s envoy says - South China Morning Post

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1. China should pressure Taliban in two ways, Afghanistan’s envoy says  South China Morning Post
2. Biden faces mounting blame for Afghanistan debacle, United States News & Top Stories  The Straits Times
3. UN chief calls on Taliban to halt offensive immediately  CNA
4. As Taliban makes a rapid military advance through Afghanistan, India too must brace itself for the consequences  The Indian Express
5. Opinion | We've always known this moment would come in Afghanistan  The Washington Post
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-08-13 22:00:22Z
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Former Brazil congresswoman goes to jail on charges of killing husband - CNA

RIO DE JANEIRO: Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, a former Brazilian congresswoman accused of orchestrating the execution of her husband in June 2019, was arrested on Friday (Aug 13) evening after being stripped of her parliamentary immunity.

Flordelis, as she is widely known in Brazil, was charged with murder a year ago along with 10 alleged co-conspirators in the death of her husband, pastor Anderson do Carmo. He was shot 30 times in the garage of their home.

But her position as a federal deputy representing Rio de Janeiro state had shielded her from prosecution.

On Wednesday, Brazil's lower house voted to remove her from office. A judge ordered that she be arrested shortly thereafter at the request of state prosecutors.

Flordelis' lawyer, Anderson Rollemberg, criticised the arrest and vowed to appeal on Monday morning.

"Totally arbitrary," he wrote in a WhatsApp message. "She went to all the hearings and she was wearing an ankle bracelet."

The Flordelis case has fascinated Brazil for several reasons including the defendant's unusual profile. A former evangelical pastor and singer, Flordelis rose to fame by adopting dozens of children in need, some of whom later accused her of running a cult-like organization.

The brutal murder of her husband struck a chord in a state where powerful organized crime groups and evangelical power brokers have developed close links in recent years.

Police have alleged Carmo's murder came amid a power struggle within the sprawling family.

Television images on Friday evening showed Rio de Janeiro police escorting Flordelis from her home into a police car, clutching a Bible.

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2021-08-14 00:11:29Z
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Malaysian PM Muhyiddin to negotiate with opposition ahead of confidence vote, pledges July 2022 election - The Straits Times

PUTRAJAYA - Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin offered a raft of reforms to Malaysia's opposition on Friday (Aug 13) in a bid to stave off defeat in a confidence vote next month.

The embattled premier, whose already shaky majority was cast into further jeopardy after more than a dozen Umno MPs disavowed his leadership, insisted he would not step down as premier despite "doubts raised over my legitimacy as Prime Minister and the status of Perikatan Nasional (PN) as the ruling government".

Tan Sri Muhyiddin's tacit admission of the loss of his parliamentary majority comes even as the 88-strong opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) called on lawmakers to rally behind their leader Anwar Ibrahim. 

At least 111 MPs are needed for a majority in the 222-strong legislature as two seats are currently vacant.

"The Cabinet agreed we will discuss with the leaders of other parties outside PN to pass the confidence vote on the prime minister in Parliament,” said Mr Muhyiddin in an address to the nation on Friday evening. 

"This confidence vote can only be passed with bipartisan support," he added.

He said he chose not to resign as no other MP can prove they have parliamentary majority support.

“If I resign now, according to the Federal Constitution, the whole Cabinet has to resign too. This means that the PN government will fall," he pointed out.

“As no other MP has the majority at this time, the prime minister cannot be appointed, according to the federal constitution. If a PM cannot be appointed, then the Cabinet cannot be appointed and a new government cannot be formed. What will happen if the political crisis prolongs ... who will ensure the vaccination programme runs according to schedule?” said Mr Muhyiddin.

The Premier's statement comes after Malaysia's King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, requested that Parliament reconvene sooner than Sept 6 to test the Premier's majority.

If he wins the confidence vote with a two-thirds majority, Mr Muhyiddin pledged to implement reforms including limiting a prime minister's tenure to two terms and table an anti-party-hopping law to prevent elected lawmakers from switching sides.

Mr Muhyiddin also said the government would table an amendment to the legislation to implement a lower voting age of 18, and hold a general election by end-July next year, depending on the pandemic situation.

He said a confidence vote would allow the government to keep functioning until there was an election.

He also said the Opposition Leader will be given all perks akin to a senior minister's rank and that the Covid-19 fund to fight the pandemic would be increased from RM65 billion (S$20.8 billion) to RM110 billion.

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2021-08-13 11:57:17Z
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China rejects need for further WHO probe into COVID-19 origins - CNA

BEIJING: China on Friday (Aug 13) rejected the World Health Organization's (WHO) calls for a renewed probe into the origins of COVID-19, saying it supported "scientific" over "political" efforts to find out how the virus started.

Pressure is once more mounting on Beijing to consider a fresh probe into the origins of a pandemic that has killed more than 4 million people and paralysed economies worldwide since it first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

A delayed and heavily politicised visit by a WHO team of international experts went to Wuhan in January to produce a first phase report, which was written in conjunction with their Chinese counterparts. It failed to conclude how the virus began.

On Thursday, the WHO urged China to share raw data from the earliest COVID-19 cases to revive its probe into the origins of the disease.

China hit back, repeating its position that the initial investigation was enough and that calls for further data were motivated by politics instead of scientific inquiry.

"We oppose political tracing ... and abandoning the joint report" issued after the WHO expert team's Wuhan visit in January, vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu told reporters. "We support scientific tracing."

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2021-08-13 05:44:28Z
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4 dead as Malaysian serviceman opens fire at air force base in Sarawak - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian serviceman shot dead three fellow air force personnel at a military base at Kota Samarahan on Friday (Aug 13) before killing himself, police said, a rare case of gun violence in the Southeast Asian nation.

He opened fire at around 7.30am at a guard post at the air force base in Sarawak state, on the Malaysian part of Borneo island, they said.

Two men died at the scene while the third managed to drive to a health clinic after being shot, but succumbed to his injuries. After shooting his colleagues, the serviceman turned the gun on himself.

All of them were on duty at the time of the incident.

Police have identified the four air force personnel who died as Corporal Ho Swee Boon from Lundu, Cpl Mohamad Ehsan Sehamat from Asajaya; Cpl Sharif Mohd Siddiq Al-Attas Wan Sabli from Kuching and aircraftman Luk Nesly anak Nabau from Sibu.

Samarahan police chief Sudirman Kram said an initial investigation found that the suspect had gone on a rampage and entered the guard station at the Handau Squadron 330 camp and took the firearms that were there.

There were several other air force personnel at the guard station at that time, he said.

"The suspect had even asked them whether they want to live or die. Sharif tried to calm him down but he fired a shot that hit Sharif in the stomach, prompting the others to run for safety," he said in a statement.

"We are shocked and horrified by the shooting," Sarawak police chief Aidi Ismail told AFP. "Malaysia is a peaceful country, we never expected such an incident."

Police and the air force are investigating the serviceman's motives, which are currently unknown.

Fatal shootings are unusual in the country of 32 million due to strict gun ownership laws.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force earlier urged all quarters not to speculate until the police concluded their investigations, and said that they would set up an investigation board to ascertain the cause of the incident.
 

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2021-08-13 06:06:49Z
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4 dead as Malaysian Air Force serviceman opens fire at colleagues at Sarawak camp - The Straits Times

KUCHING (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, AFP) - Four Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) personnel were killed in a shooting incident at their camp in Kota Samarahan on Friday (Aug 13) morning.

Sarawak police commissioner Comm Datuk Aidi Ismail said the shooting happened at the guardhouse of the RMAF camp.

"Initial investigations found that the incident involved four RMAF personnel on duty at the guardhouse," he said in a statement, adding that investigations were ongoing.

Two men died at the scene while the third managed to drive to a health clinic after being shot, but succumbed to his injuries. After shooting his colleagues, the serviceman turned the gun on himself.

All the personnel were on duty at the time of the incident.

RMAF also confirmed the incident in a statement, saying that it occurred at about 7.15am Friday.

It urged the public not to speculate on the shooting but to let the police complete their investigations.

"We have handed over the case to the police for investigation.

"We will also set up an investigation board to identify the cause of the incident," RMAF said.

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2021-08-13 05:21:56Z
CAIiEAu6ykMzg8PzQEzux-LB4-wqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow_7X3CjCh49YCMMa2pwU

Trump blames Biden for 'unacceptable' Taliban surge in Afghanistan - CNA

Authorities in Kabul have now effectively lost most of northern and western Afghanistan and are left holding a scattered archipelago of contested cities also dangerously at risk.

Some US officials fear that the Taliban could take over Kabul within three months of the Aug 31 deadline.

The US signed the agreement with the Taliban in Doha on Feb 29, 2020, committing to a pull-out of US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops by May 1, 2021 in exchange for security guarantees.

They included a promise by the militants to hold peace talks with the government in Kabul, to not attack the US or its interests, and to not support groups like Al-Qaeda in attacking the United States.

In the wake of the agreement, the Trump administration sharply cut the number of US forces inside Afghanistan and remained committed to the May 1 deadline, even as the Taliban accelerated its offensive against government security forces following the Doha deal.

Trump's troop reductions continued after he lost last November's election to leave the number at 2,500, along with some 16,000 civilian contractors, still in Afghanistan when Biden took office on Jan 20.

Biden paused further withdrawal for a review of policy, and in April announced that the pull-out would go ahead, pushing the deadline back initially to Sep 11, 2021, before moving it up again to Aug 31.

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2021-08-12 15:23:43Z
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