The News tnemational, Karachi, Saturday, Jane 20, 2008


WORLD 11


Telegram loses
bid to overturn
India’s temporary
blocking of app

NEW DELHI: Telegram on access to Telegram,” Delhi} f ape

Friday lost its bid to overtum High Court Justice Tejas
an Indian govemment order Karia said in his ruling.
temporarily banning the mes-
‘saging app, with a New Delhi than 150 million users in India
court ruling that the govern- and counts the country as its
ment’s actions, aimed at pre- biggest market, did not inme-
serving the integrity of a key diately respond toa Reuters
med school exam, were legal request for comment on the
and reasonable,            “verdict, The Indian govern-
The ban of the app from ment also did not respond to
June 16 to June 22 has arcquest for comment.
stirred an intense debate in “It. sets. a conceming preo-
the world’s most populous edent with consequences for
nation. Free speech rights the open internet that extend
activists say it has set a wor. well beyond this case, digital
rying precedent that cements rights group Internct Free-

Telegram, which has more | &


government powers to curb dom Foundation said on X} WEST BANK: Israell military shoot tear 25 ‘at Palestinians who protest against settlement n near Hebron, hereon

the use of any messaging after the verdict.
platform whenever it sees fit       The block only affected
The government put Telegram, with the govem-
the block in place after the ment arguing that the app
results of the country’s exam represented a unique case,
for students hoping to get citing features such as the
into medical schools were easy recreation of blocked
scrapped last month amid channels and the way
allegations that the question phone numbers and user-
leaked. *         name-based

Paper had been                interactions can
The government [s beconcealed, which create‘a
“empowered ... to issue dirre-      t enforcement chal-

tions for blocking the public lenge®.—Reuters


Australia agrees to pay
millions to compensate
asylum seekers.

SYDNEY: Australia has Woomera and Baxter centres,
agreed to pay Aus$28 million - “Today is an important
($20 million) to compensate moment, but it fs also one
dozens of asylum seekers marked by grief, Some group
held in a remote                   Members did not live to
detention centre Iwo decades see this day,” said Nicholas
cartier by a conservative gov- Kitchin of Shine Lawyers,
ernment seeking to deter boat     “For many group mem-
arrivals ~                                     bers, Australia is now home.
. . The Woomera detention They have built lives, families
centre opened in the south. and communities here, while
em Australian desert in 1902, continuing to live with the
Within six months it held consequences of an extraor-
nearly 1,600 people, most dinarily uying chapter in their
from Iraq and Afghanistan. A byes.”
third of detainees were chil: A Home Affairs depart.
@en     ment spokesman said the
The centre led human matter had been resolved “in
rights groups to condemn accordance with legal princ-
Australia’s punitive asylum. ple and practice".
seeker policies as protesting —_ After closing the desert
detainees sewed their lips camps, Australia shifted to
closed on hunger strikes and deporting asylum seekers
mass breakouts, who had arrived by boat fo
Tt was dosed in 208.    camps in the remote Pacific
Last week, Australia’s islands of Nauru and Manus
High Court ruled the govern Island as they waited for ref-
Taent was not immune from ugee claims to be processed,
compensation claims for . Separately, human rights
immigration detention found group Refugee Action Coali-
tobeunhaful .    _ lon on Friday urged the gov-
+ Shine  Lawyers  said on emment to medically evacuate
Friday the Australian gov- a 96-year-old Kurdish-Iranian
ernment had agreed lo settle refugee sent to Manus bland
a class action by 38 former in Papua New Guinea in 2013,
detainees who allege serious saying his mental and physical
farm while they were held in heakh had significantly deteri-
immigration detention in the orated. —AFP


“Malaysian parents
welcome new
anti- -bullying law:

KUALA  LUMPUR: Malay.  Educational  Achievement
sian parents and education found that Malaysia had one
groups welcomed on Friday of the highest rates of bullying
@ new anti-bullying law and among eighth-grade students
the faunch of a dedicated Slobally.
tribunal, but urged caution = - An  Ipsos  poll last ‘year|
over a clause that could hoki found that some 260 of 400
parents responsible for their Malaysian respondents, or
children’s actions,    * ~ 6 percent, said they experi-
The new law came into enced bullyingat school.
effect on Tuesday in an effort. Malaysia also established
to tackle the problem that anew Anti Bullying Tribunal
affected some 3,000 students as the new law came into
in the Southeast Asian nation effect.                .
last year, according to gover        It comprises 58 specialists
Taent                 who will deal with cases too
“We  welcome.  the  Act   difficult to handle on the local
because it places children’s schoolleve..
well-being at the centre and = One of the key provisions
recognises that bullying has of the new law states that
serious emotional, psycho- parents of minors who are
logical and educational con- convicted by the tribunal
sequences,” said Datin Noor of bullying can now also be| we
Azimah Abdul Rahim of the held Bable for their children’s
Parent Action Group for Edu: actions and risk additional
cation in Malaysia... .. court
~ A2023 study by the Dutch. .

ation for the Evaluation of fully,” Noor said —AFP


ICC chief prosecutor Khan suspended by British lawyers’ regulator

THE HAGUE: Intemational _ Khan, 56, denies the alle-
Criminal Court chief prose. gations against him. “He
cutor Karim Khan, who has mainiains that he has acted at
been accused of sexual mis- all times fully in accordance
conduct, has been suspended with his professional obliga-
by Britain's independent regu: tions,” his lawyers said ina
lator for court lawyers.          statement sent to Reuters,
~+ Khan had already been ~ Khan’s supporters have
suspended on June 8 by the suggested that he has become
ICC's governing body, pro- a political target for secking
longing a crisis at the war arrest warrants for bracliofi-
crimes court, which is also cials over Israet’s conduct in
under US sanctions over its war in Gaza. The IOC's 125
irwestigations into the United member states will vote on
States and Israck.        . his fate at a spechal session of

‘The Bar Standards Board fts governing body on July 24, against the

said in a statement that the | The ICC, the world’s fast
suspension, effective imme. permanent war crimes court,
diately, would be considered opened in 2002 to Prosecute
by apane al a hearing within  individuals for war crimes,
four weeks. -           “os> ++ eximes against humanity


procedures and fines. [according to an Iranian gov- has been great, with hun- tions that the US military
* *However, legal liability | emment agency. Israel says dreds of schools and health has expended will be much
based Intemational Associ- should be approached care- | 26 Israelis have been killed. care facilities damaged or higher than the original pure

Friday, —Retrs wiepot

Burnham vows
‘new path’ for UK:as he
eyes bid to oust Starmer

Transport minister calls on British PM to resign


eS ros would not accept ultimatums, it’s a fact.”

@ | Russia.

‘Russia tells Europe:
‘Yes to talks, no to
ultimatums

a | MOSCOW: Russia said on Fri- ‘European incompetence,

day it was open to dialogue misinformation, or stupidity?
with European countries but We don't know for sure, but

as signs increase that the EU Putin has said that he is
may sock talks with Moscow open to talks with European
after largely shunning con- governments but that they
tacts since thestart ofthe war should make the first move
in Ukraine. * *         * + because they were the ones.

Kremlin spokesman Dmi- to cut off tics. The EU has
try Peskov said common imposed 20 rounds of sane
sense dictated the need for Uons on Russia over its inva-
such contacts because of the  sion of Urraine,,

“enormous number” of com
plex issucs on the agenda, but =“ Afler standing aside for

4 | he said the Europeans needed well over a year and leaving

to change their approach to it to US President Donald
:                   . Trump to try to broker an
“The Europeans ‘have a end lo the conflict, the EU

# | very serious misconception: has started to Teach out cau

They assume that negolia- tiously to Russia.

tions with Russia must be — The office of European
conducted from a position of Council President Antonio
strength and based on Rus- Costa has made “brief con-
sia’s weakness, This Is the tacts at diplomatic leve?’ with
biggest mistake... Such talk the Kremlin in recent weeks
will lead nowhere,” he told “to open communication
Teporters,                               channels’, an EU official said

-*Does this stem from  on Wednesday, —AFP ¢


Scientists discover.
‘hyperparasite’ in
Malaysia Borneo jungle

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian site,” Scelansaid
scientists have discovered a. The new species

targets
LONDON: Veteran UK Labour worked for people and places Friday, as Andy Burnham's “Jolt wing of the party, Bum-| new species of parasitke fun- ants already Infected by
politician Andy Burnham in this part of the world,” return to parliament fuels ham has been an outspoken | gus in Bomeo’s jungles that Ophiocordyceps, or “zombie
vowed toput Britanonanew Burnham told cheering expectations of aleadership critic of Starmer’s more| preys.on “zombie fungus” that fungus", which manipulates.

path after winning a crmnch crowdson Friday. ~
by-election on Friday as .

oust him from office.             adding: “We're going to lay  the Labour Party for him to acontest,

challenge.The report said centrist rule. He will easily | are known to infect insects the infected insect’s nervous
+ “This is the change that she had told St