China conducting reclamation activities in unoccupied Islands in South China sea



News Desk, Barta24.com
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China has been conducting reclamation activities in unoccupied regions of the Spratly Islands like Eldad Reef, Whitsun Reef, Lankiam Cay and Sandy Cay, reported The Hongkong Post.

The Spratly Islands is an archipelago which lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam in the South China Sea.

Satellite images from US officials show new land formations around the Spratly Islands. A Chinese vessel with a hydraulic excavator has been seen operating near the islands.

China occupies seven islands and rocks in the Spratlys. The country has been militarizing them with runways, ports and radar systems. The islands which are believed to have rich gas and mineral deposits are claimed in whole by China and in parts by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), expressed concern towards China’s activities in the Spratlys Islands. It states that such activities by China contravene the Declaration of Conduct on the South China Sea’s undertaking on self-restraint and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

“The US too expressed support for the Philippines amid reports of Chinese vessels swarming near Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands and issued a statement that the reported escalating swarms of PRC vessels interfere with the livelihoods of Philippine fishing communities and also reflect continuing disregard of other South China Sea (SCS) claimants and states lawfully operating in the region,” according to The Hongkong Post report.

The report said: “The US Department of State, backed the Philippines’ calls for China to respect international law in the SCS, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 ruling of a Hague-based arbitral tribunal that voided China’s sweeping claims over the disputed waters.”

The report is groundless, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning. He accused the US of creating problems among the claimant countries, including the Philippines.

In 2022, a total of 193 Note Verbales (Non-Verbals) were filed by China against the Philippines. Beijing, however, continues to violate the Philippines’ sovereignty in the South China Sea which in turn affects the region’s peace and stability.

On Thursday, a Chinese fighter jet performed an unsafe manoeuvre after it came as close as 20 feet within a US military aircraft over the South China sea, The Hill reported citing the US Indo-Pacific Command.

A Chinese Navy J-11 jet pilot was shot down on Thursday, according to a news release from the command coordinating American military operations in the area.

It stated, it “flew an unsafe manoeuvre by flying in front of and within 20 feet of the nose” of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, which forced the US aircraft to “take evasive manoeuvres to avoid a collision.”

The US aircraft was “lawfully conducting routine operations” over international airspace, the command said, reported The Hill.

 

   

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



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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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



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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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



International Desk, Barta24.com
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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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Boeing incurs huge losses after door open incident



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Boeing lost a huge amount of money due to the opening of the doors of the Boeing aircraft of Alaska Airlines in mid-air. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing reported a loss of US dollar 343 million in the first quarter of this year (January-March).

An unused door on an Alaska Airlines Boeing Max 9 collapsed moments after takeoff from Portland, Oregon last January. Although the Alaska Airlines plane was able to land safely in this incident, questions about Boeing's safety have been raised around the world.

As a result, Boeing reduced the production of the aircraft according to their target. As a result, Boeing is forced to pay huge losses in the first quarter of this year.

After the Alaska Airlines incident, the United States Aviation Agency ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing Max 737 aircraft. In the wake of the incident, Boeing's chief immediately admitted the mistake and promised to fix the problem with 100% transparency. But even this did not save the end. Boeing's CEO was eventually forced to resign.

In order not to cut the heat of this incident, a former Boeing engineer recently talked about the manufacturing defects of the Dreamliner 787. He recommended grounding all Dreamliner aircraft worldwide. In this incident, the safety of Boeing was questioned again.

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