China, Iran call for lifting sanctions

Call on Afghanistan to end restrictions on women

China and Iran have urged mutual neighbor Afghanistan to end restrictions on women’s work and education.

Quake survivors wait amid rubble, to search or say goodbye

BEIJING, FEB 16 (AGENCIES): China’s President Xi Jinping and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, called on Thursday for the lifting of sanctions on Iran as an integral part of a stalled international agreement on its nuclear programme.

Xi also accepted an invitation from Raisi to visit Iran and would do so at his convenience, the two leaders said in a joint statement on the last day of a three-day state visit to China by Raisi.

The leaders called for the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, under which Iran agreed with several countries, including the United States, to curb its nuclear programme in return for economic sanctions relief.

But in 2018, the then U.S. president, Donald Trump, withdrew the United States from the deal and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

President Joe Biden said in 2021 that the United States would return to the deal if Iran moved back into compliance but talks have stalled.

“All relevant sanctions should be fully lifted in a verifiable manner to promote the full and effective implementation,” Xi and Raisi said.

The call came in a joint statement Thursday issued at the close of a visit to Beijing by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during which the two sides affirmed close economic and political ties and their rejection of Western standards of human rights and democracy. Since taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has banned women and girls from universities and schools after the sixth grade and forced out those in elected offices and other prominent positions. “The two sides ... called on the Afghan rulers to form an inclusive government in which all ethnic groups and political groups actually participate, and cancel all discriminatory measures against women, ethnic minorities and other religions,” the statement said, adding that the U.S. and its NATO allies “should be responsible for the current situation in Afghanistan.”

The U.S. had backed Afghanistan’s elected government against the Taliban, but withdrew amid the rising costs and dwindling domestic support for a government that was unable to counter a Taliban revival.

The call for women’s rights is notable coming from Iran’s hardline Shiite Muslim regime, which has been challenged by months of protests sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody for allegedly violating clothing requirements. The country’s theocracy has executed at least four men since the demonstrations began in September over the death of Mahsa Amini. All have faced internationally criticized, rapid, closed-door trials. The bulk of the China-Iran joint statement emphasized strong political and economic ties, the quest for peace and justice in the Middle East and denuclearization in spite of Tehran’s alleged drive to produce atomic weapons.

Trump election probe grand jury believes some witnesses lied

ATLANTA, FEB 16 (AP): A special grand jury that investigated efforts by thenPresident Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his election loss in Georgia says it believes some witnesses committed perjury, and it recommends that prosecutors seek charges.

The panel recommended that the district attorney “seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.” In addition to the section on perjury, the report’s introduction and conclusion were released Thursday. But any recommendations on potential criminal charges for specific people will remain under wraps for now.

While the report is silent on key details, including who the panel believes committed perjury and whether other indictments should be pursued, it marks the first time the grand jurors’ recommendations for criminal charges tied to the case have been made public. The investigation is one of several that could have serious legal consequences for the former president as he ramps up his third bid for the presidency.

Despite Trump’s persistent conten- tions, the grand jurors found “by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning the election.”

The partial release was ordered Monday by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversaw the special grand jury. During a hearing last month, prosecutors urged him not to release the report until they decide on charges, while a coalition of media organizations, including The Associated Press, pushed for the entire report to be made public immediately.

China sanctions Lockheed Martin, Raytheon for Taiwan sales

BEIJING, FEB 16 (AP):

China on Thursday imposed trade and investment sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon for supplying weapons to Taiwan, stepping up efforts to isolate the island democracy claimed by the ruling Communist Party as part of its territory.

Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s Raytheon Missiles and Defense are barred from importing goods into China or making new investments in the country, the Ministry of Commerce announced.

It said they were added to the “unreliable entity” list of companies whose activities are restricted because they might endanger national sovereignty, security or development interests.

It wasn’t clear what impact the penalties might have. The United States bars most sales of weapons-related technology to China, but some military contractors also have civilian businesses in aerospace and other markets.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war.

The island of 22 million people never has been part of the People’s Republic

1 killed, 3 hurt in Texas shooting

EL PASO, FEB 16 (AP):

One person was killed and three more were wounded Wednesday in a shooting at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, adding to the dozens of people already killed this year in mass shootings across the United States.

El Paso police said hours after the gunfire that two people had been taken into custody, though details of what led the shooting remained unclear. Interim police chief Peter Pacillas said that Cielo Vista Mall was still considered a crime scene, and that it would remain locked down until authorities had completed their investigation. of China, but the Communist Party says it is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary. President Xi Jinping’s government has stepped up efforts to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and bombers near the island and firing missiles into the sea.

Pacillas stressed that the danger had passed.

“There is no more danger. I want to repeat that: There is no more danger to the public,” Pacillas said.

The United States has no official relations with Taiwan but maintains extensive commercial and informal contacts. Washington is obligated by federal law to make sure the island’s government has the means to defend itself.

The United States is Taiwan’s main supplier of military equipment.

Raytheon Missiles and Defense, part of Raytheon Technologies Corp., was awarded a USD 412 million contract in September to upgrade Taiwanese military radar as part of a USD 1.1 billion package of US arms sales to the island. Boeing Defense received a USD 355 million contract to supply Harpoon missiles.

Beijing responded to that sale by announcing sanctions against the CEOs of Raytheon and of Boeing Defense but gave no details of what they were.

ANTAKYA, FEB 16 (AP): Hamid Yakisikli has waited outside the pile of concrete that used to be his house since an earthquake devastated his home in the ancient city of Antakya. He and his two brothers have endured freezing conditions, in big jackets and wool hats, waiting for rescuers to retrieve the body of their mother, Fatma, from under the rubble.

Ever since the Feb. 6 earthquake decimated swaths of Turkey and Syria, survivors have gathered outside destroyed houses and apartments, refusing to leave.

Hundreds of buildings were reduced to rubble; ancient buildings lie in ruins; and the streets of Antakya’s historic center were blocked by mounds of debris and furniture, dividing the city into small blocks of apocalyptic destruction. It was the most deadly quake in Turkey’s modern history.

Over 2 million people have left the disaster zone in Turkey, according to the government. But here in the worst-hit city, hundreds are still waiting. At every corner, a few people look at a pile of rubble, praying for a wife, a sister, a son or a friend.

Yakisikli, a retired cook, was closest to his mother. She lived right below him. He was home when the quake struck. “We were on the third floor, and we just found ourselves on the ground,” he said. His moth- er’s second-floor apartment was deep underground.

Yakisikli and his brothers initially tried to climb the rubble in search of their mother. One caught a glimpse of her head through the debris — she was lifeless, lying on her back.

Unable to free her body, they began a long wait.

“I can’t have peace of mind without burying her,” said Yakisikli, as he watched an excavator claw at the remains of the building behind his home.

Ruling Taliban display rare division in public over bans

ISLAMABAD, FEB 16 (AP): A rare public show of division within the ranks of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban emerged in recent days when Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, a powerful government figure, gave a speech seen as implicit criticism of the movement’s reclusive supreme leader.

The Taliban leadership has been opaque since the former insurgents’ takeover of the country in August 2021, with almost no indication of how decisions are made.

In recent months, the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has appeared to take a stronger hand in directing policy. In particular, it was on his orders that the Taliban government banned women and girls from universities and schools after the sixth grade.

The bans raised a fierce international uproar, increasing Afghanistan’s isolation at a time when its economy has collapsed — and worsening a humanitarian crisis. The bans also appeared to contradict previous policies by the Taliban government. Between the Taliban takeover until the December ban on attending universities, women had been allowed to continue their studies. Taliban officials repeatedly promised

Red Cross warns of crisis in quake-hit Syria

BEIRUT, FEB 16 (AP):

Syria could face dangerous outbreaks of disease in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake if hundreds of thousands of displaced people do not get permanent housing soon, the Red Cross’ global chief said Thursday, as Syrians struggle to receive humanitarian aid amid the mounting crisis.

Jagan Chapagain, who is Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said families staying in makeshift shelters without adequate heating

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“They are still living in very basic conditions in very, very cold school rooms,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “If this continues for a long period of time, then there will be health consequences.” He spoke after returning from Aleppo, Syria’s largest city that for years witnessed some of the worst fighting of the country’s ongoing civil war. Aleppo was hit with a cholera outbreak in late 2022. The earthquake’s impact on access to housing, water, fuel, and other infrastructure could make another outbreak “possible,” he said, adding that the disaster also has been ruinous for Syrians’ mental health. “If the conflict had broken their backs, I think this earthquake is breaking their spirit now,” Chapagain said. that girls would be allowed to attend secondary school, but a decision to allow them back last year was suddenly reversed.

Haqqani made his comments in a speech over the weekend to a graduation ceremony at an Islamic religious school in the eastern province of Khost.

“Monopolizing power and hurting the reputation of the entire system are not to our benefit,” Haqqani said, according to video clips of the speech released on social media by his supporters. “The situation cannot be tolerated,” he added. Haqqani said now that the Taliban have taken power, “more responsibility has been placed on our shoulders and it requires patience and good behavior and engagement with the people.” He said the Taliban must “soothe the wounds of the people” and act in a way that the people do not come to hate them and religion. Haqqani did not refer to Akhundzada, but the remarks were seen by many commenting on social media as directed at him. Haqqani also did not mention the issue of women’s education, but he has said publicly in the past that women and girls should be allowed to go to school and universities.

Pakistan govt hikes fuel prices

ISLAMABAD, FEB 16 (PTI): People in Pakistan woke up on Thursday to the shock of a historic price hike in the prices of petrol and gas as the government tried to appease the IMF for unlocking the critical loan tranche for the cashstrapped country.

The “petrol bomb” as the price hike is termed these days, was dropped around Wednesday midnight, hours after the government unveiled a tax-loaded ‘minibudget’ in the Parliament to extract Rs 170 billion from the people through new taxes and increase in electricity

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The official trailer of the upcoming musical-drama series titled ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ was unveiled recently. It serves a delectable treat of the 1970s aesthetics in terms of costumes, colour palette, styling, themes and of course the music which is the fulcrum of the series.

Although the story is presented in a documentary style, including background interviews with the band, ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ is a fictional story that captures the essence of creativity in the erratic, wild world of the 1970s and the band’s journey from its rise to the fall.

The series, which is based on the eponymous novel, features Riley Keough as Daisy Jones, Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne, Camila Morrone as Camila Dunne, Will Harrison as Graham Dunne, Suki Waterhouse as Karen Sirko, Josh Whitehouse as Eddie Roundtree, Sebastian Chacon as Warren Rojas, Nabiyah Be as Simone Jackson, and Tom Wright as Teddy Price, with a special guest appearance by Timothy Olyphant as Rod Reyes. The story follows the 1970s band, fronted by two feuding yet charismatic lead singers, Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne. Drawn together by personal and artistic chemistry, their complicated musical partnership catapulted the band from obscurity to unbelievable fame. And then, after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field, they suddenly called it quits.

Decades later, the band members finally agree to reveal the truth. Set to the soundtrack of original music from Daisy Jones & the Six’, - this is the story of how an iconic band imploded at the height of its powers.

The series features ‘Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)’, one of 24 original songs written exclusively for the series and recorded by the cast.

The original music will be released by Atlantic Records during the rollout of the series, which premieres on March 3, with new episodes being released every Friday through March 24, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

From Amazon Studios and Hello Sunshine, ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ is executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter for Hello Sunshine and Brad Mendelsohn for Circle of Confusion, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. (IANS)

Berlin Film Festival jury President Kristen Stewart doesn’t buy the talk that movies are dead. At a press conference in Germany on Thursday afternoon to commemorate the launch of the 73rd annual Berlinale, she declared that cinema will live forever, reports ‘Variety’.

“Take a quick glance at your rear view mirror,” said Stewart, taking questions from reporters, according to ‘Variety’. “We have never stopped telling each other stories.” She then nodded to headlines about weakened international box office receipts as a result of the pandemic. “How much it costs, obviously like we’re headed towards oblivion on that one. I also think that there’s a sort of, like, vital, desperate need in all of us to create something. And yeah, I think when you start really fixating on, like, the industry, it’s easy to be like, ‘Oh, God, it’s all falling apart!’ But I just think that there’s something vital, that’s undeniable, will never go away,” ‘Variety’ quotes Stewart as saying.

Stewart first attended the Berlinale in 2010 with the independent production, “Welcome to the Rileys”, alongside director Jake Scott.

“I guess in full transparency, I’m kind of shaking,” she said about her role as the festival’s President, according to ‘Variety’. “It’s not a weight that I don’t fully understand. I’m just ready, ready to be changed by all the films and changed by the people around us. I think that’s what we’re here for.”

Stewart recently finished directing her first feature, “The Chronology of Water”, and she’s currently working on a paranormal reality series, for which she recently issued an open casting call. She is exec producing the project, which focuses on LGBTQ+ ghost hunters. (IANS)

Raquel Welch, the actor who became an icon and sex symbol thanks to films such as ‘One Million Years B.C.’ and ‘Three Musketeers’, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles after a brief illness, her manager confirmed to ‘Variety’. She was 82 and is survived by son Damon and daughter Tahnee. She came onto the movie scene in 1966 with the sci-fi film ‘Fantastic Voyage’ and the prehistoric adventure ‘One Million Years B.C.’, the latter of which established Welch as a sex symbol.

The actor, notes ‘Variety’, went on to appear in the controversial adaptation of Gore Vidal’s ‘Myra Beckrinridge’, ‘Kansas City Bomber’ and Richard Lester’s delightful romps ‘The Three Musketeers’ (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe, and ‘The Four Musketeers: Milady’s Revenge’ (1974).

She was one of the first women to play the lead role -- not the romantic interest -- in a Western, 1971 revenge tale ‘Hannie Caulder’ -- an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ (2003),