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Karachi, Feb 3 (IANS) Six Chinese nationals, who filed a complaint against the local police in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, decided to withdraw their harassment complaint on Monday after the provincial government in Sindh assured them of a thorough investigation, a day ahead of President Asif Ali Zardari's five-day visit to China beginning Tuesday.

The Chinese nationals, who run multiple businesses in Karachi, had filed a complaint in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on January 25, complaining of harassment and mistreatment at the hands of local police authorities in the name of security issues.

In their complaint, they stated that, like thousands of other Chinese citizens, they too had come to Pakistan after fulfilling all legal formalities and invested a lot in terms of money and resources in various business ventures in the country.

However, the petitioners contended that Sindh police had engaged in repeated acts of harassment over the last seven months, including imposing restrictions on their movements within the Karachi city and Sindh province.

The petitioners also stated that they were subjected to unjustified detainments at their residences on the pretext of security issues and without any legal ground or specific incident. They accused police officials deputed at their residences of demanding anywhere between Rs 30,000-50,000 for granting permissions to go out.

In their complaint, they mentioned that the local police in Karachi also sealed seven industrial units of some Chinese nationals under the pretext of security issues, and without any legal notice. Many Chinese nationals, they asserted, are now preparing to wrap up their business in Sindh and instead invest in Lahore, or even leave the country due to the unjustified treatment by the Pakistani authorities.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) had issued notices to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and its Consulate in Karachi, along with provincial and federal law officers to respond to the allegations and complaints filed by the Chinese nationals.

However, the Chinese nationals have now decided to withdraw their complaint after getting assurances from the provincial and the federal governments that the matter will be investigated and people responsible for misconduct held accountable.

Sources say that the issue became a priority for the Pakistani authorities as President Asif Ali Zardari will be beginning his five-day trip to Beijing, starting Tuesday.

The Pakistan Foreign Office stated that Zardari will be in Beijing from February 4 to 8.

"At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Asif Ali Zardari of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will pay a state visit to China from Feb 4-8," read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan.

Pakistan wanted to ensure that the case of harassment of Chinese nationals is put to rest before the President's Beijing visit.

Security of Chinese nationals across Pakistan, especially in Karachi, has been beefed up after the deadly blast outside the Karachi International Airport that killed two Chinese nationals in October last year. China had severely criticised the incident and called on Islamabad to protect the lives of its citizens working in the country.

--IANS

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Canberra, Feb 2 (IANS) A woman has died while thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes after torrential rainfall caused flooding in northern Queensland, authorities said, adding that waters will continue to rise and warned of a "dangerous and life-threatening" situation.

More than 1,000mm (39 inches) of rain has fallen on parts of north-east Queensland since Friday with "record rainfalls" set to continue into Monday, according to Queensland State Premier David Crisafulli.

Crisafulli said conditions were unlike anything northern Queensland had experienced "for a long time".

Meteorologists said that these could be the worst floods in the region in more than 60 years, BBC reported.

"It's not just the intensity, but it's also the longevity of it," he told Australian broadcaster ABC.

The woman who died was onboard a State Emergency Service (SES) dinghy which hit a tree and capsized in the town of Ingham, in north-west Queensland.

It is understood she was a member of the public who was being rescued at the time and was not an emergency worker, BBC reported.

The other five people on board were able to get to safety. An investigation has been launched.

Meanwhile, three people were rescued from the roof of a house in Cardwell, about halfway between Cairns and Townsville.

Video has emerged showing a man clinging to a pole in Ingham after his vehicle was washed away -- and being taken to safety by locals in a boat.

The Townsville Local Disaster Management Group says that 1,700 homes in the city may be inundated -- some up to the second floor -- as river levels rise.

Thousands of people across six Townsville suburbs were told to leave their homes by midday on Sunday, but officials say about 10 per cent of residents had opted to stay.

The same areas were severely hit during the 2019 flooding, BBC reported.

Premier Crisafulli urged people to heed the warnings, saying: "In the end, houses and cars and furniture, that can all be replaced. Your family can't."

On Sunday night local time, a new evacuation centre was being opened – as others reached capacity.

Parts of the road between Townsville and the tourist centre of Cairns have been cut off, hampering efforts to get rescue teams and sandbags to the worst-hit areas.

Meanwhile, Townsville airport is closed until Monday morning, supermarkets have run out of fresh food, and thousands of homes are without power, including in Ingham and the Indigenous community of Palm Island.

And there is a warning for locals to watch for crocodiles lurking in floodwaters away from their usual habitats.

North Queensland is prone to destructive cyclones, storms and flooding.

But climate scientists say that warmer oceans and a hotter planet create the conditions for more intense and frequent extreme rainfall events.

--IANS

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Tehran, Feb 2 (IANS) Iran on Sunday unveiled three new domestically developed satellites in the Iranian capital Tehran to mark its National Space Technology Day, media reported.

The satellites, namely Navak-1, Pars-2, and an upgraded model of Pars-1, were unveiled in a ceremony attended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Minister of Information and Communications Technology Seyyed Sattar Hashemi, as well as several cabinet members, officials, and military commanders, the report said.

Developed by the Iranian Space Research Centre, the Navak-1 communications satellite is designed to test the function of an improved version of the homegrown Simorgh launch vehicle soon.

The carrier is expected to put the satellite into an elliptic orbit, according to official news agency IRNA.

Weighing nearly 34 kg, Navak-1 is equipped with a dosimetry payload to measure cosmic rays, the report said, adding the satellite has a magnetometer sensor to measure the Earth's electromagnetic field.

According to IRNA, the Pars-2 remote-sensing satellite weighs 150 kg and is equipped with two imaging payloads with two different homegrown linear position sensors.

The satellite features a propeller and is capable of carrying out diverse missions in the fields of environmental monitoring, forestry, natural disaster response, and urban management.

The upgraded model of the Pars-1 remote-sensing satellite, weighing under 150 kg, has three imaging payloads: multispectral, short-wave infrared, and thermal infrared, according to IRNA.

The satellite is powered by energy generated from its gallium arsenide solar cells, according to the report.

The first model of the satellite, weighing 134 kg, was launched on February 29, 2024, aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny space base.

Speaking at another ceremony in Tehran on Sunday to mark the occasion, Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said the country plans to conduct two space launches in the coming weeks, before the end of the current Iranian calendar year on March 20.

On September 27, 2024, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force successfully launched the homegrown imaging satellite Nour-3 into orbit.

Nour-3 (Light-3) was launched by satellite carrier Qased (Messenger) and placed into an orbit 450 km (280 miles) above the Earth's surface.

Earlier in the year, Iran successfully sent the homegrown Mahda research satellite, along with two research cargoes, to space onboard the domestically developed Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite launch vehicle (SLV).

Mahda weighs 32 kg and its primary task is to test the satellite-related subsystems, verify the function of Simorgh SLV in dispensing space cargoes, and evaluate the performance of new designs and the reliability of indigenous technologies in space.

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Colombo, Feb 2 (IANS) Sri Lanka is planning to establish five elephant corridors in its north-central province to reduce human-elephant conflicts, media reported on Sunday.

The north-central province has experienced the highest number of human-elephant conflict incidents compared to other regions, according to the state media.

Out of the province's 29 Divisional Secretariat Divisions, 27 have seen a sharp increase in human-elephant conflicts in recent years, according to the report.

To address the issue, authorities have decided to create five elephant corridors. Additional measures include preventing encroachment on protected areas, managing elephant habitats by cultivating grasslands, and rehabilitating water tanks in conservation zones, the state media reported.

Human-elephant conflict is a serious problem in Sri Lanka, Xinhua news agency reported.

In 2024, 388 wild elephants and 155 people lost their lives due to these conflicts, according to official data.

The Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in Sri Lanka is a critical and multifaceted issue posing significant challenges to the conservation of the endangered Asian elephant.

This conflict has deep historical roots and has escalated due to various factors, including poorly planned development projects, forest clearing, habitat loss, fragmentation of elephant habitats, population growth, urban expansion, changing land use, haphazard electric fencing, and mismanagement of forest and wildlife reserves, as well as weak wildlife management practices.

The conflict has resulted in economic losses for farmers, human injuries, and fatalities, making it imperative to find effective solutions.

Despite a lengthy history of wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka, existing measures have proven insufficient to mitigate the impacts of HEC.

The national policy on the conservation and management of wild elephants in Sri Lanka (2018) focuses on confining elephants to Elephant Conservation Areas (ECAs) and Managed Elephant Reserves (MERs), which has proven to be a failed strategy.

In addition to the loss of more than 400 elephants annually, a tragic incident occurred in 2019, where seven elephants from the same herd were found dead at the Hiriwadunna reserve in Habarana, drawing immediate public attention.

Legal action was initiated to investigate the incident and advocate for justice.

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Juba, Feb 2 (IANS) The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Sunday expressed concern about the escalating violence between cattle keepers and settled farming communities in Eastern Equatoria State, which has reportedly left at least 35 people dead.

Nicholas Haysom, special representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of UNMISS, strongly condemned the ongoing violence and called on all involved parties to demonstrate restraint, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Such attacks and counter-attacks must stop," Haysom said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Armed conflict erupted on January 31 between pastoralists and settled communities in and around Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State, leading to retaliatory fighting in Agoro, Chomboro, Obama, and Ayiii villages.

Local officials said the attacks had left at least 35 people dead and more than 40 others injured.

According to UNMISS, these events have created widespread fear and resulted in civilian displacement from affected areas in Eastern Equatoria and Lokiliri in neighbouring Central Equatoria State.

Haysom called for concerted efforts by national, state, and local authorities to prevent recurrent conflict between herders and farmers in the future, adding that the UN mission would continue to intensively engage with communities and authorities to reduce tensions and send peacekeeping patrols to affected areas to boost security.

In an update covering July to September last year, the UN Mission in South Sudan – or UNMISS – expressed concern about the steep increase in abductions and combat-related sexual violence, compared with the same period last year.

UNMISS's human rights division said that 299 non-combatants were killed between July and September last year, along with 310 injured and 151 abducted.

More than 32 people were also subjected to sexual violence in conflict settings. Killings and injuries were highest in Warrap State, accounting for 60 per cent of the total casualties, while most abductions took place in Central Equatoria State – representing nearly seven in 10 of the national total. The peacekeeping mission reported that tensions between government security forces and so-called National Salvation Front splinter groups "continue to threaten civilians across the Greater Equatoria region" in violation of terms agreed upon and signed by both parties.

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Jerusalem, Feb 2 (IANS) It is possible to strengthen security and expand peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday before departing for Washington, where he will negotiate the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

"I believe that we can strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace, and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength," he said before boarding his flight.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss issues of Gaza, Israeli hostages, the Middle East, and the entire world, his office said in a statement as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Netanyahu said his meetings in the US capital "will deal with important, critical issues facing Israel and the region -- victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages, and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components, an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East, and the entire world".

Speaking before boarding the plane, he said the fact that he is the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House since the latter's inauguration is "a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It's also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship".

"The decisions we've made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East," Netanyahu declared alongside the state's official plane, Wing of Zion, which took him to Washington.

"Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further, and for the better."

Netanyahu was apparently referring to ties with Saudi Arabia.

Israel is pushing for the establishment of a negotiating team to hold talks on official relations with the Gulf state, the Kan public broadcaster reported on Saturday, adding that the Trump administration wants to achieve peace between Jerusalem and Riyadh as part of the US President's vision for a "Golden age of peace in the Middle East".

The move would expand on the Abraham Accords, through which Israel established relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco during Trump's first term in office. Saudi Arabia did not join the 2020 accords and has never recognised Israel.

Normalisation with Saudi Arabia has been all but shelved due to the war in Gaza as well as Riyadh's demands that Israel establishes a diplomatic horizon for a future Palestinian state.

The Israeli PM will also meet with Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, to coordinate positions on the next phase of the ceasefire.

Witkoff will then talk with officials from Qatar and Egypt, who had mediated the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Israel and Hamas agreed on a three-phase ceasefire deal in January, under which Hamas has so far released 18 hostages and Israel has freed hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

According to Israeli figures, more than 70 hostages are still being held in Gaza.

--IANS

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Harare, Jan 31 (IANS) Zimbabwe's economic outlook is positive, with growth expected to increase to six per cent in 2025, up from two per cent last year on the back of an anticipated recovery in agriculture and robust growth in industry and services, the World Bank (WB) said Friday.

"Zimbabwe's economic outlook is positive, with recovery from the 2019/2020 Covid-19 recession and the 2024 El Nino-related drought," the WB said in its latest Zimbabwe Economic Update report.

The report, titled 'Improving Resilience to Weather Shocks and Climate Change', highlighted the opportunity for Zimbabwe to strengthen resilience to climate shocks and climate resilience to further boost growth.

According to the report, Zimbabwe's economic recovery in 2025 is mainly due to a broad-based post-drought recovery, as agriculture, a critical pillar of the economy, is expected to grow by almost 13 per cent, driven by the recovery in maize and tobacco production.

The report also noted that Zimbabwe's mining sector continues to exhibit strong growth, bolstered by rising gold prices and new investments that are expected to increase lithium production as well as iron and steel manufacturing.

"Similarly, the tourism industry is growing rapidly, with increasing numbers of international arrivals and hotels' bed occupancy," the report said.

The manufacturing sector, however, has seen lackluster growth, driven in part by power shortages due to drought, as declining water levels in Lake Kariba have affected Zimbabwe's hydroelectric power generation, the report said.

To boost economic growth, the WB said Zimbabwe would need to continue tackling its macroeconomic challenges to ensure price and exchange rate stability, Xinhua news agency reported.

The southern African country also needs to continue its engagement efforts on arrears clearance and debt resolution through the Structured Dialogue Platform, the WB said.

"In restoring macroeconomic stability, it will be essential to minimize the impact of economic reforms on vulnerable households. It will be critical for the government and development partners to identify ways to support vulnerable households," the WB said.

Eneida Fernandes, WB Country Manager for Zimbabwe, stressed the need for Zimbabwe to enhance irrigation development and investment in landscape and watershed management to bolster the country's resilience against climate-related shocks.

"Climate shocks such as the drought undermine sustainable development and exacerbate poverty levels, making it imperative to enhance the resilience of the agricultural sector," Fernandes said.

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Moscow, Jan 31 (IANS) Washington's latest decisions on the development of a new missile defence system won't help reduce tensions with Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday on the development of a new missile defence system for the country. The Iron Dome missile defence shield would protect against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles and other aerial attacks.

During her weekly briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that this initiative essentially reaffirms the US intension to pursue the militarization of space, noting that the decision involves a significant expansion of the American nuclear arsenal.

"It directly envisages a significant strengthening of the American nuclear arsenal and means for conducting combat operations in space, including the development and deployment of space-based interception systems," she said.

"We consider this as yet another confirmation of the US focus on turning space into an arena for armed confrontation," she further said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Zakharova warned that the initiative would also hinder potential dialogue on strategic offensive arms, noting that this measure is the first sign of Washington's destabilizing plans for the development of its military-technical programmes.

Moscow on Friday also confirmed that three Russians were among the 67 victims of the deadly plane crash that took place in the United States on Wednesday night.

A US passenger jet carrying 64 people crashed into the Potomac River after a mid-air collision with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter, the worst US air disaster since 2001.

The American Eagle Flight 5342 was carrying 60 passengers and four members of the crew while the US Army Black Hawk helicopter had three service members.

"We express our sincere condolences to their families and all Americans. As has already been confirmed, our compatriots were on board the airliner, including world champions in pair figure skating on the Russian national team Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, as well as Soviet figure skater Inna Volyanskaya, who worked in the United States as coaches. The American athletes flying with them also died," said Zakharova during an off-site media briefing in Saransk, Mordovia.

"As stated by the American side, there are no survivors in this plane crash. Three victims of this plane crash, according to information from our Embassy, ​​have Russian passports. With regard to another person, the fourth, there is an understanding that there could have been a Russian passport - this information is currently being checked," Zakharova added.

The spokesperson stated that the Russian Embassy in the United States is in contact with the US State Department on the whole range of issues on the tragic accident.

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Helsinki, Jan 31 (IANS) Sweden has launched its first military communications satellite, the country's Ministry of Defence announced on Friday.

As Sweden's first military satellite in space, the satellite GNA-3 was launched in August last year from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the United States, but the launch has been kept secret until now.

The satellite is now being operated by the Swedish Armed Forces and serves as a test and experimental project for future satellite launches, the ministry said on Friday.

The role of space as a strategic and operative realm is becoming more explicit for all actors, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union, the ministry added.

Speaking on Swedish Television, Defence Minister Pal Jonson underlined that Sweden would in future have "certain independence and knowhow" in gathering intelligence information.

Sweden has unique geopolitical advantages as it has the Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna, Northern Sweden, and the possibility from there to launch polar satellites, Jonson added, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Swedish-Danish demonstrator satellite Bifrost is set to be launched in the summer of 2025, to demonstrate tactical reconnaissance and surveillance from space using AI-supported data processing. The demonstrator satellite Heimdall should be launched from Esrange, approximately 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, in 2027 or 2028.

Jonson detailed that GNA-3 is a communications satellite and serves as a "test and trial project" for future military satellite launches. In 2025, he said, the Swedish-Danish satellite Bifrost is expected to be launched, and in 2027–2028, the satellite Heimdall will be launched from Esrange in Kiruna.

"GNA-3 passes over Sweden four times a day and has an orbit of approximately 500 km altitude. The launch of GNA-3 is the result of a collaboration between the Swedish Armed Forces, the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), the Swedish Defence Research Institute (FOI) and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV)," the Defence Minister posted on X.

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Phnom Penh, Jan 31 (IANS) Cambodia has halted mine clearance projects in eight provinces after the United States has frozen funding, a mine clearance chief said on Friday.

Heng Ratana, Director-General of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), said the US-funded mine clearance projects in Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, Kratie, Tboung Khmum, Kampong Cham, Prey Veng, and Svay Rieng provinces have been suspended for 85 days from January 25 onwards.

He said in a statement posted on social media that these projects, carried out by CMAC in cooperation with development partners, are to clear "the US origin unexploded ordinances as the remnants of war."

CMAC has received a grant of 6.35 million US dollars from the US for mine clearance operations from March 2022 to November 2025, Ratana said, adding that this funding has supported some 200 technical Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) experts.

He said under these projects, CMAC had so far made remarkable achievements by clearing 561 polygons or 11,195 hectares of cluster munitions or UXOs affected fields, finding and destroying 27,022 landmines and UXOs that included 17,971 cluster munitions and 69 aerial bombs, Xinhua news agency reported.

The halt was made after US President Donald Trump last week ordered a sweeping 90-day pause on foreign aid, which included suspending its funded mine clearance projects around the world.

Cambodia is one of the countries worst affected by landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERWs). An estimated four to six million landmines and other munitions had been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998.

According to the Yale University, from 1965 to 1973, the US had dropped over 2.75 million tons of ordnance in 230,516 sorties on 113,716 sites in Cambodia.

The CMAA's report showed that from 1979 to 2024, landmine and ERW explosions had claimed 19,834 lives and maimed 45,252 others.

--IANS

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