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Indonesia says no to $1bn fee for Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ seat

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JAKARTA: Indonesia’s president, under fire at home for signing up to US counterpart Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace ”, has insisted his country would not pay the $1 billion joining fee for permanent membership. Jakarta had only committed peacekeeping troops for the initiative, Prabowo Subianto said in a statement published on the presidential YouTube channel on Sunday. The “Board of Peace” came together after the Trump administration, teaming up with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza. Countries that want to be permanent members must pay $1 billion — sparking criticism the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council. Jakarta has only committed peacekeeping troops for initiative, says Indonesian president Prabowo, a former general, has come under criticism from Indonesian Muslim groups for joining the board and pledging to send 8,000 peacekeeping troops to Gaza. Prabowo attended t...
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Did Iran attack Diego Garcia military base?

AFTER a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia island in the Indian Ocean was targeted by two long-range missiles, there are conflicting claims about who fired the projectiles, which reportedly had a range of 4000km and were successfully intercepted. Reports indicate that one missile failed mid-flight, while the other was intercepted by a US warship before reaching the island. According to an Al Jazeera report, the incident happened just hours before UK ministers were to assemble in London to discuss the Iran war. At the meeting, the UK agreed to let the US use its military bases for collective self-defence, it reported. The UK condemned what it described as “reckless” Iranian actions after missiles, while Iran denied carrying out the attack. However, a senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera that Tehran was not responsible for the alleged missile launch. Earlier this month, Iran’s foreign minister said that Tehran kept its missile range under 2000km because it did not want t...
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THE LAST DAYS OF BENAZIR BHUTTO

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THE LAST CONVERSATION It was December 2007. A chill had begun to descend over Islamabad, and over Pakistan’s democracy. The country was just weeks away from general elections that had been agreed to between Gen Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto, after torturous negotiations laid down in the ‘Memorandum of Understanding.’ Having returned from exile, Benazir Bhutto was navigating a minefield of threats, both political and personal. But that cold evening, she made time for a quiet dinner with the former prime minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif, at Zardari House in Islamabad. It was in a highly friendly setting. The dinner meeting was consequential, as the Charter of Democracy signed between the two just a year ago had buried the hatchet from the 1990s, when the two parties were at each other’s throats while taking turns forming governments. It was also consequential as it was their last conversation — the one in which both poured out their hearts as never before. But it was most consequential for ...
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On World Water Day, President Zardari calls on India to restore Indus Waters Treaty

President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called on India to immediately restore full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in accordance with international obligations. In a message on World Water Day, President Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the unilateral suspension of the treaty by India. “This deliberate weaponisation of shared water resources is a matter of deep concern. India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance, disrupt hydrological data-sharing, impede agreed mechanisms and undermines both the letter and spirit of a long-standing international agreement that has governed equitable sharing of the Indus river system for over six decades,” he said. “Such conduct threatens food and economic security, jeopardises the livelihoods of millions who depend on these waters and sets a dangerous precedent for the management of transboundary resources under international law,” he said. The IWT, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allocates the three wes...
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Helicopter crashes in Qatar after ‘technical malfunction’ during routine duty: ministry

Rescuers were searching for the crew and passengers of a Qatari military helicopter that crashed in the Gulf state’s waters after a “technical malfunction”, the government said early Sunday. “A Qatari helicopter had a technical malfunction during a routine duty, which led to its crash in the regional waters of the state,” Qatar’s defence ministry said in a statement posted to X. “Searching operation for its crew members and passengers is in progress,” it said. The interior ministry said that several specialised teams have been deployed. Qatar has not specified where the helicopter was flying or the number of people on board. While Qatar has been targeted by several strikes since the start of the Middle East war, no connection has been made between this chopper and the conflict triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran. from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/UoWV5fP
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‘Brain drain affecting higher education’

QUETTA: Balochistan Gov­ernor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail said on Thursday that brain drain is seriously affecting higher education in public universities of the province as senior professors are migrating to other provinces due to lack of facilities and job insecurity in public sector universities of Balochistan. “The lack of necessary facilities and opportunities is forcing the province’s bright minds to migrate to other provinces,” Mr Mandokhail said during a meeting with vice-chancellors of various public sector universities of the province. He stressed the need for formulating a comprehensive policy to reverse this trend and to pave the way for “brain gain” instead of brain drain. “Universities and their campuses in the province’s remote districts are currently facing a severe shortage of facilities,” the governor said. He said the government will provide professors, associate professors, and assistant professors with both job security and benefits to enable them to work wholeheart...
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War Diary Day 21: Muted Nowruz, Eid in Iran

On the twenty-first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, a sombre Nowruz and Eidul Fitr eve set the domestic mood in Iran, as fresh military developments and a shifting coalition posture pointed to an imminent widening of the war. Across Iran, the Persian New Year arrived without usual festivities associated with it. Celebrations were scaled down, with war, blackouts and economic strain shaping public sentiment. Markets remained open but subdued, and even among diaspora communities, observances lacked the usual fervour. ‘Rare moral boost’ Against this backdrop, a reported Iranian air defence success provided a rare morale boost. Iranian systems are said to have damaged a US F-35 during a combat mission, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Al-Dhafra Airbase in the United Arab Emirates. While the operational impact appears limited, the symbolic value of hitting a stealth fifth-generation aircraft would be considerable. The Iranian media is projecting it as evidence that adv...
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