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Putin warns West of harsh response if it crosses Russia’s ‘red lines’

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(Last Updated On: April 21, 2021)

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday not to cross Russia’s “red lines”, saying Moscow would respond swiftly and harshly to any provocations and those responsible would regret it.

At a time of acute crisis in ties with the United States and Europe, with Russian troops massed near Ukraine and opposition leader Alexei Navalny on hunger strike in jail, the Kremlin leader used his state of the nation speech to project a message of Russian strength and defiance in the face of outside threats.

“We want good relations…and really don’t want to burn bridges,” Putin told both houses of parliament.

“But if someone mistakes our good intentions for indifference or weakness and intends to burn down or even blow up these bridges, they should know that Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, swift and harsh.”

Russia would determine where its red line lay in each specific case, he said, comparing those who attack it to hyenas led by a tiger.

His comments came at the climax of a speech dominated by Russia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic hardship. Putin announced new social support measures for families with children ahead of a September parliamentary election.

He adopted a sterner tone when setting out foreign policy.

“In some countries, they have developed a highly unseemly habit of picking on Russia for any reason, and most often for no reason at all – a kind of sport,” said Putin, standing alone on a vast stage flanked by white, blue and red national flags and a backdrop of a giant double-headed eagle.

“Organisers of any provocations that threaten our core security interests will regret what they have done like they’ve never regretted anything for a long time.”

Putin, who is 68 and has dominated Russia for two decades, made no mention of Navalny. The opposition politician is ill in prison after starving himself for three weeks to demand access to his own doctors.

The rouble firmed after Putin’s speech, with markets interpreting it as not escalating tensions with the West.

Recent weeks have seen an intensification of confrontation between Russia and Western countries, which are alarmed by Navalny’s worsening condition and by what they say is the massing of tens of thousands of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Russian-annexed Crimea.

Washington last week tightened sanctions on Russia over accusations of computer hacking and election interference, and the Czech Republic accused Moscow of a role in explosions at an arms depot in 2014. Both expelled Russian diplomats. Russia denied wrongdoing and responded with tit-for-tat expulsions.

Moscow summoned a senior U.S. diplomat on Wednesday and said 10 embassy staff it expelled last week had a month to leave and that it would be disclosing the details of other punitive measures it had promised soon.

Tensions are also strained over the fate of Navalny, whose supporters rallied across Russia on Wednesday in his support.

Two of Navalny’s closest allies were arrested on Wednesday, their lawyers said. Lyubov Sobol, one of the faces of Navalny’s popular YouTube channel, and Kira Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, were both detained in Moscow.

One Navalny aide, Ruslan Shaveddinov, tweeted: “Right now across the whole of Russia they are detaining potential protesters. This is repression. This cannot be accepted. We need to fight this darkness.”

European Council President Charles Michel called the arrests “deplorable” and urged Russian authorities to respect people’s right to assemble.

OVD-Info, a group that monitors protests and detentions, said that nearly 300 people had been detained over the rallies in dozens of different places. The figure was expected to climb.

The Russian government has said the gatherings are illegal. Previous pro-Navalny rallies have been dispersed by force, with thousands of arrests.

Four doctors from outside Russia’s federal prison service visited Navalny on Tuesday and found his health to be satisfactory, Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said.

In his speech, Putin urged all citizens to get vaccinated and predicted that Russia would achieve collective immunity by the autumn.

On the eve of an online climate summit to be hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, Putin also called for tougher “polluter pays” rules and set a goal for Russia to cut its greenhouse gas emissions below those of the European Union in the next 30 years.

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1402, a difficult year for Afghan women and girls

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(Last Updated On: March 19, 2024)

As this solar year, 1402 draws to a close, the suspension of high school and higher education for girls continues, despite repeated calls to the Afghan government to reconsider this decision.

This year, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials repeatedly said they plan to reopen schools above grade 6, and universities, to girls – once plans were finalized. However, nothing has come of this.

In many meetings, both in Afghanistan and outside the country, repeated requests were made to the IEA to provide education for everyone – and some officials of the Islamic Emirate even expressed their dissatisfaction over the decision.

Representatives of the United Nations and countries of the world have repeatedly emphasized that the right to education should be given to women and girls, but these requests were not accepted by the Islamic Emirate.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “Supporting the rights of women and girls is a central part of our foreign policy. Over the past three years, we have put forward concrete strategies, policies and programs to support women and girls around the world. It’s not just rhetoric, it’s action.”

Spokespersons of the Islamic Emirate said many times in interviews with the media that schools and universities for girls would reopen. However, they did not say when the wait for girls would end.

Now, almost three years after schools, above grade 6, were closed to girls, the hope is that in the new academic year there will be changes in the policy of the Islamic Emirate and the school bell will ring with a good news for girls.

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US urges Pakistan to exercise restraint after airstrikes in Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: March 19, 2024)

The United States on Monday urged Pakistan to exercise restraint in its counter-terrorist offensive in Afghanistan.

Addressing a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre called on both sides to address differences through dialogue.

This came after Islamabad carried out airstrikes early Monday on what they claim were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts in Khost and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate in turn responded and said they targeted Pakistan’s military posts along the Durand Line.

Jean-Pierre meanwhile said: “We are aware of the reports, obviously, that Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to an attack in Pakistan on Saturday at a military post. We deeply regret the loss of life and injuries sustained during the attack in Pakistan and the loss of civilian lives during the strikes in Afghanistan.”

“We urge the Taliban to ensure that terrorist attacks are not launched from Afghan soil. We urge Pakistan to exercise restraint and ensure civilians are not harmed in their counterterrorism efforts. We urge both sides to address any differences through dialogue. We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists who wish to harm the United States or our other partners or allies,” she continued.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Monday said “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” were carried out inside the border regions of Afghanistan, hours after Kabul said airstrikes conducted on its soil had killed eight people.

The dead included five women and three children in the airstrikes carried out by Pakistan.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Monday the attack was a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) does not allow anyone to compromise security by using Afghan territory,” he said in a statement.

While Pakistan blames Afghanistan for sheltering the TTP responsible for the rise of such attacks, the ruling Taliban has denied these allegations.

In response to the Pakistani military’s air strikes the IEA claimed it carried out attacks on “Pakistani military centers with heavy weapons” and warned Islamabad of repercussions.

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IEA’s foreign ministry summons Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over airstrike

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over Islamabad’s airstrike inside Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday morning.

The ministry presented the charge d’affaires with a letter of protest and advised the new civilian government to curb anti-Afghanistan actions and to not ‘complicate’ relations between the two Muslim countries.

The ministry also condemned the airstrikes, in Paktika and Khost, and warned Islamabad it has a long history of fighting foreign powers and that it will not tolerate military action on its territory.

The ministry said in a statement that Pakistan’s new civilian government and the people of Pakistan should not allow some circles to complicate the relations between the two neighboring Muslim countries.

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