Secretaries of state in the united states

Lashkar-e-Taiba deputy chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks planner Sajid Mir was sentenced by a Pakistan anti-terrorism court in Lahore on terror-financing charges in May this year, in a speedy trial completed just three weeks after he was arrested, three days before a U.S.-Pakistan ministerial meeting and a month before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary that gave Pakistan a reprieve. Mir had been declared “dead” by Pakistani officials as recently as in December 2021, but was then arrested by the police on April 21, 2022, convicted on May 16, 2022, and sent to Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail to serve three consecutive sentences amounting to fifteen and a half years in prison. According to a report in Pakistan Geo News , officials said Mir was tried and convicted “quietly”, given the sensitivities around the case. The Ministry of External Affairs in India has not commented on the case, given that the arrest, conviction and sentencing have not been formally announced by … [Read more...] about 26/11 planner Sajid Mir was arrested and convicted within weeks

The story so far: U.S. Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday condemning alleged violations of human rights and religious freedom in India, and asking the U.S. Secretary of State to designate India as a “country of particular concern.” The resolution has been co-sponsored by Congresspersons Rashida Tlaib, Juan Vargas, and Jim McGovern. The resolution is based on the 2022 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) which said that the Indian government “escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies — including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda — that negatively affect Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities”. The report recommended, for the third year in a row, that India should be classified as a “ country of particular concern ” (CPC). Also Read Explained | What is the U.S. Office of International Religious Freedom? … [Read more...] about Explained | U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s resolution about the alleged mistreatment of minorities in India

A group of six Republican senators on Friday asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about an ongoing Biden administration national security review of social media platform TikTok. (Sign up to our Technology newsletter, Today’s Cache, for insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business and policy. Click here to subscribe for free.) The U.S. government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks, in 2020 ordered Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that U.S. user data could be passed on to China's communist government. Also Read Meta, Tiktok collect user data from web forms without users’ consent, study says Last week, TikTok said it has completed migrating information on its U.S. users to servers at Oracle Corp , as it seeks to address U.S. concerns over data integrity. Senators Tom Cotton, Ben … [Read more...] about Senators seek update on U.S. security review of TikTok

The United Nations is hoping an international conference that got underway on June 27 will bring fresh momentum to protracted efforts for a global agreement on protecting the world’s oceans. The five-day U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal has drawn senior officials and scientists from more than 120 countries to the Atlantic port city in Southwest Europe, as well as activists dismayed by the failure to come up with international rules that might ensure ocean sustainability. No comprehensive legal framework covers the high seas. Oceans cover some 70% of the earth’s surface and provide food and livelihoods for billions of people. Some activists refer to them as the largest unregulated area on the planet. In his opening remarks at the conference, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries to show “unity and togetherness around the issues of the sea”. “Sadly, we have taken the ocean for granted, and today we face what I would call an ocean emergency,” Mr. … [Read more...] about U.N. oceans conference eyes steps toward high seas agreement

MOSCOW (AP) — More than four months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport for cannabis possession, a Russian court has set the start date of the criminal trial of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner for July 1. The Phoenix Mercury star was also ordered to remain in custody for the duration of her criminal trial. She could face 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of large-scale transportation of drugs. Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in the U.S., acquittals can be overturned. On Monday, the court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki extended Griner’s detention for another six months after she appeared for a preliminary hearing held behind closed doors. Photos obtained by the AP showed her appearing in handcuffs. Griner had previously been ordered to remain in pretrial detention until July 2. Griner’s detention and trial come at an extraordinarily low point in Moscow-Washington relations. She was arrested at Moscow’s … [Read more...] about WNBA Star Brittney Griner Appears in Russian Court

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Biden administration is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing by China, ordering federal agencies to better coordinate among themselves as well as with foreign partners in a bid to promote sustainable exploitation of the world's oceans. On Monday, the White House released its first ever National Security memo on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, or IUU, to coincide with the start of a United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Nearly 11% of total U.S. seafood imports in 2019 worth $2.4 billion came from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission, a federal agency. While China isn't named in the lengthy policy framework, language in it left little doubt where it was aimed. The memo is bound to irritate Beijing at a time of growing geopolitical competition between the … [Read more...] about Biden aims at China in new illegal fishing policy framework

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Sunday and called the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “historic” and “fantastic,” emphasizing that “We’re going to protect so many unborn babies.” Pompeo told host Matthew Boyle that the justices who brought about the majority decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case “got the Constitution right.” “We had five folks stand up and say this is what the Constitution actually says. I give President Trump full credit for delivering on the promises that he made,” he continued, referring to the 45th President making good on his promises to appoint conservative justices to the highest court in the country. He later told Boyle, “ This is important for the Constitution, it’s really important for America. It’s important to protect the women who have had to suffer this horrific procedure where a baby is killed. But the work has just begun, right? We’re … [Read more...] about Exclusive – Mike Pompeo: ‘We’re Going to Protect so Many Unborn Babies’

A Russian missile strike on a crowded mall in central Ukraine killed at least 16 people Monday in what Group of Seven leaders branded “a war crime” at a meeting in Germany where they looked to step up sanctions on Moscow. The leaders vowed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and those responsible would be held to account for the strike in the city of Kremenchuk, carried out during the shopping mall’s busiest hours. “Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime,” they said in a statement condemning the “abominable attack.” Ukraine accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it “one of the most brazen terrorist acts in European history” in his evening broadcast posted on Telegram. “A peaceful town, an ordinary shopping centre — women, children ordinary civilians inside,” said Zelensky, who earlier shared a video of the mall engulfed in flames with dozens of rescuers and a fire truck outside. Emergency … [Read more...] about G7 Denounces ‘War Crime’ as Russian Strike Kills Shoppers

Brussels: The European Parliament recognised Venezuela's self-declared interim president Juan Guaido as de facto head of state on Thursday, heightening international pressure on the OPEC member's socialist President Nicolas Maduro. EU lawmakers voted 439 in favour to 104 against, with 88 abstentions, at a special session in Brussels to recognise Venezuelan congress head Guaido as interim leader. In a statement with the non-binding vote, the parliament urged the bloc's 28 governments to follow suit and consider Guaido "the only legitimate interim president" until there were "new free, transparent and credible presidential elections". British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who spoke to Guaido on Wednesday and wants further EU sanctions on Venezuelan officials, urged counterparts to embrace the 35-year-old head of Venezuela's National Assembly. "Parliament has spoken. For us, Mr. Guaido is the president of Venezuela and we do hope that the European Union will find a united … [Read more...] about EU Parliament Recognises Guaido as Venezuelan Interim President