NEW DELHI (Dispatches) – Indian authorities have demolished the house of a Muslim activist following his arrest by police for purportedly planning to stage protests against disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). On Sunday, civic authorities in Allahabad – officially known as Prayagraj, a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh – demolished the house of Javed Muhammed, who is an activist with the Welfare Party of India. Authorities claimed the building was an illegal construction. They razed the house only a day after police arrested him for what they called hatching a conspiracy for violent protests in the metropolis against sacrilegious comments made by two officials of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the holy Prophet of Islam.  In remarks during a debate broadcast on the Times Now television channel on May 26, BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma made inflammatory comments against the Prophet. The remarks drew condemnation and triggered violent clashes in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur. Officials removing belongings, furniture and photographs from Javed Mohammad’s house as the demolition continues in Parayagraj. Javed is one of the accused in the violence in the city on June 10.  

 

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GENEVA (Anadolu) – Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the globe has seen a rise in the use of child workers, the International Labor Organization (ILO) warned on the eve of Sunday, June 12, World Day Against Child Labor. ILO figures from numerous countries indicate a rising trend in child labor in the post-pandemic period due to worsening economic conditions, Benjamin Smith, the organization’s senior officer on child labor, told Anadolu Agency. Before the pandemic, there were some 160 million child laborers globally, Smith said, but 9 million more children might join the ranks of laborers by the end of this year. Underscoring that child laborers are generally found in the informal economy, he said the children’s poor financial situation plays an important role in this situation. Most of the child laborers, around 70%, are employed in the agricultural sector, he said. According to a joint report by the ILO and UNICEF, around half of the 160 million child laborers, aged 5-17, are employed in hazardous work. Since 2008, the Asia-Pacific, South America, and Caribbean regions made stable progress in reducing the number of child laborers while the situation in Africa grew even worse. To promote awareness on the issue, since 2002 the ILO has marked June 12 as World Day Against Child Labor.

 

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KHARTOUM (AFP) – An overladen ship crammed with thousands of sheep capsized Sunday off Sudan’s Red Sea coast drowning the animals on board but with all crew surviving, port officials said. The livestock vessel was heading from Sudan’s port of Suakin to Saudi Arabia when it ran into trouble in the Red Sea. “The ship, Badr 1, sank during the early hours of Sunday morning,” a senior Sudanese port official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It was carrying 15,800 sheep, which was beyond its load limits.” Another official, who said that all crew were rescued, raised concerns over the economic and environmental impact of the accident. “The sunken ship will affect the port’s operation,” the official said.  “It will also likely have an environmental impact due to the death of the large number of animals carried by the ship”. Last month, a massive fire broke out in the cargo area of Suakin port, lasting hours and causing heavy damage. It was not clear what caused the blaze. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire, but has yet to release its findings.

 

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COLOMBO (AFP) – Crisis-hit Sri Lanka announced weekly fuel quotas for motorists on Sunday, as an acute shortage worsened and longer queues formed outside the few pumping stations still operating. Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation was struggling to finance oil imports, while consumption had shot up due to shortages of electricity and liquefied petroleum gas. “We have no choice but to register consumers at filling stations and give them a guaranteed weekly quota until we are able to strengthen the financial situation,” the minister said. He did not say how much fuel motorists will be allowed to buy under the new system. Sri Lanka has been struggling with its worst economic crisis in decades, with the country unable to import basic necessities such as food, fuel and medication due to a lack of foreign exchange reserves. In mid-April, the government ordered all fuel stations not to pump more than four liters of petrol for a motorcycle, five for a three-wheeler and 19.5 liters of gasoline or diesel for cars and SUVs.

 

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SEOUL (Dispatches) – South Korean truckers were on strike for a sixth day on Sunday after talks with the government failed to make progress amid rising fuel prices.  Officials met for more than 10 hours with the leaders of the Cargo Truckers union for a third round of negotiations, urging them to return to work and end the strike, but the two sides failed to narrow their differences on key agenda items. The transportation ministry said it will continue to hold talks, but a union official said he is not certain whether the talk would continue. The drivers are demanding that minimum wage guarantees introduced two years ago during the pandemic be extended beyond December 31 expiration. They are also demanding work rules that prevent overwork and extended hours that they say lead to unsafe driving. The strike has slowed down the production of Hyundai Motor’s biggest factory complex and disrupted shipments for a range of companies, including steel-making giant POSCO. On Sunday, some 100 unionized truckers gathered at the main gate of the factory complex in the southern city of Ulsan. Hundreds more were expected to join on Monday.