ISLAMABAD, May 17 (DNA): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday announced that Pakistan, Turkey, Sudan and Palestine will jointly move the United Nations against Israel’s military aggression in Gaza.

Addressing the National Assembly session today, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the four countries would jointly demand to convene UN General Assembly meeting on the Palestine issue. The foreign minister said that he would leave for turkey today where he would meet with his counterparts and will discuss the grave situation in Palestine.

People in western counties were also staging rallies in solidarity with the Palestinians, he said and hoped that the European Union will also raise its voice against Israeli brutalities in Palestine.

Earlier today, Opposition leader of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif had spoken over the Palestine issue in the National Assembly session, as the middle eastern country continues to suffer massacre led by the Israeli occupation force, calling on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League to soon commence a meeting on the matter.

He had said that while the people of the whole world, including non-Muslims, protest against Israeli atrocities, the international media was not reporting on it and the heads of European states were silent. God forbid, he had said, if it were any Muslim country doing the modicum of what Israel had been doing, it would have meant war.

The only crime of Palestinians, which had silenced the international community, was that they are Muslims, he had asserted.

NEW YORK, MAY 17 (DNA) – Thousands of people across the United States staged protests this weekend to stand in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and demand an end to Israel airstrikes that have killed upwards of 192 civilians, according to media reports.

Protests extended as far as Los Angeles to New York on Saturday, the 73rd anniversary of al-Nakba, meaning “catastrophe,” so named for the 1948 expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their home in East Jerusalem.

Several hundred people turned out in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn, New York, chanting “Free, free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” They waved Palestinian flags and held placards that read “End Israeli Apartheid” and “Freedom for Gaza.”

Many protesters wore black and white, and red and white, keffiyeh scarves, while drivers sounded car horns and motorcyclists revved their engines as the sun beat down.

They also criticized the Biden administration for it’s support to Israel whose military has been unleashing a barrage of attacks on Gaza, with progressive US lawmakers, Palestine advocates and rights groups urging the US president to pressure the Jewish state to end its military offensive.

The Israeli military began bombing the Gaza Strip last Monday after Israel’s plan to forcibly displace Palestinian families from occupied East Jerusalem and its attacks on Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound spurred widespread protests in Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and inside Israel.

Israeli air raids on Gaza have killed scores, destroyed roads, and flattened buildings, including a tower that housed the offices of Al Jazeera and The Associated Press.

In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, Biden “reaffirmed his strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza”, the White House said in a statement.

“He condemned these indiscriminate attacks against towns and cities across Israel,” the read-out also stated. But the Israeli prime minister on Sunday remained adamant, saying the offensive was “continuing in full force” and “will take time”, the Reuters news agency reported.

A day earlier, Netanyahu thanked Biden for his “unequivocal support of Israel’s right to defend itself”. In Louisville, Kentucky, a student organizer from the university there told The Courier-Journal that this year’s commemoration is especially important.

“This is not just a Palestinian issue; it’s a human rights issue,” said the student, who did not want to be named out of concern for her Palestinian family’s safety. “This is a humanitarian thing, and as Americans, we do have a duty to speak up about this because our own tax dollars are funding the Israeli military.”

Further west, a rally in Phoenix saw hundreds gather at the Capitol to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Jamil Naser with the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance said at the rally that protesters gathered to “reaffirm our commitment to the Palestinian people’s struggle, for justice, return and liberation.”

“On this day, we need to understand that Palestinians are not in a conflict, they are in a struggle for liberation,” Naser said. “A big reason why that struggle seems insurmountable is because the outside support Israel receives from all corners of the world, but at the end of the day, there’s no bigger culprit than the government of the United States.”

Naser, echoed by other speakers, said the US aids and helps Israel’s militarily “while looking the other way and offering cover for Israel while they commit countless human rights violations against Palestinian people.”

Amid warnings of a ‘full scale war,’ Biden administration dispatches envoy to Middle East. On Sunday, a massive rally of 4,000 in the streets of Paterson, New Jersey, marched and shouted chants of “Free Palestine” and “Occupation has to go.”

Organizers in one of the largest Arab and Palestinian communities in the United States asked people to call their elected officials to demand that they speak out for Palestinian rights and end unconditional aid to Israel.

US officials should recognize that the cause of unrest “is inhumane, unjust and oppressive” policies toward Palestinians, said Sayel Kayed, chairman of the New Jersey chapter of American Muslims for Palestine.

In Memphis, Tennessee, chants of “Occupation is a crime from Memphis to Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” rang through the air as a big group of marched to the National Civil Rights Museum.

Sheikh Anwar Arafat spoke to supporters in the Memphis crowd, telling them that his family in Gaza had to evacuate their housing and that he received a text from his aunt that he thought would be the last.

“(Palestinians) know that you’re here, and your presence gives them strength,” Arafat said. “You should be proud.” Traffic was at a standstill as nearly two thousand demonstrators marched in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit.

“This didn’t just happen in the last two weeks in Jerusalem and Gaza, this has been going on since 1948,” said Amer Zahr, president of New Generation for Palestine at the rally. “They use words on TV like ‘eviction’ and ‘clashes,’ that’s not true. (They say) it’s a conflict, no it’s not. It’s an occupation, it is apartheid and it is ethnic cleansing and it’s been going on for 73 years.”

The rallies come as Israelis and Palestinians experience the most violent outburst of conflict since 2014, following escalating tensions due to Israeli raids of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the final week of the Muslim holy month of Ramazan and pending home evictions of Palestinians in east Jerusalem by Israeli settler groups

On Sunday, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City flattened three buildings and killed at least 42 people, according to media reports, making it the deadliest single attack since heavy fighting broke out between Israel and the territory’s militant Hamas rulers nearly a week ago.

The assault has displaced some 34,000 Palestinians from their homes, U.N. Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, where eight foreign ministers spoke about the conflict.

Efforts by China, Norway and Tunisia to get the 15-member Council to issue a statement, including a call for the cessation of hostilities, have been blocked by the United States, on the ground that it could interfere with diplomatic efforts to stop the violence. = DNA

=======================

ISLAMABAD, MAY 17 – Pakistan on Monday urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to immediately initiate steps to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity as Israel violated the council resolutions.

Speaking at the UNSC open debate on the situation in the Middle East, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, welcomed the council open meeting and said the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and Jerusalem was “extremely grave.”

“In the grim backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the region, we urge the Security Council to fulfill its Charter obligations, to call for an immediate halt to Israel’s use of disproportionate and arbitrary force; to offer protections to the Palestinian civilians who are bearing the brunt of the Israeli attacks,” said Akram.

Akram urged the council to initiate steps to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity as Israel violated the council resolutions.

“Pakistan condemns Israel’s use of indiscriminate and disproportionate force, including aerial bombing, resulting in the deaths of nearly 200 Palestinians, including dozens of women and children, as well as the destruction of civilian infrastructure,” he said.

“These Israel’s actions are unacceptable and are in contravention of the norms of international law. They violate UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions and have grave implications for the maintenance of peace and security in the region and beyond.”

The Pakistani envoy while welcoming the open debate in the UNSC on the current situation in the Middle East also expressed his disappointment over the council for its failure to take action and halt Israeli aggression for so long.

“It is regrettable that despite the daily loss of lives due to Israel’s aggressive actions, the Security Council has failed to demand that Israel halt its indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force against the defenseless and beleaguered Palestinian people in Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank and in the besieged Gaza,” he said, adding: “It is regrettable that such actions by the Council have been prevented by those who proclaim their strong adherence to the principles of human rights and the international rule of law.”

Akram also urged the council to ask Israel to stop all unilateral and illegal steps, including settlements and attempts to change the status of Jerusalem.

PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS PALESTINIAN ENVOY

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday has received Ambassador of Palestine Ahmed Jawad A.A. Rabaei at his office in the capital Islamabad and strongly condemned violence by the Israeli forces “against innocent worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque” during the holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, issued by the Foreign Ministry, Qureshi conveyed his deepest sorrow and condolences for the innocent victims of lethal attacks by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza and the West Bank.

“He (Qureshi) categorically condemned IDF’s continuous and indiscriminate attacks that had resulted in the martyrdom of more than 140 Palestinians, including 39 children, and 22 women, and injured more than 1,000,” the statement added.

Qureshi also briefed Rabaei over his outreach to foreign ministers of important regional partners and reassured him of his country’s ongoing efforts.

The Palestinian ambassador expressed his gratitude for Pakistan’s unwavering support and steadfast policy on Palestine and apprised Qureshi about the latest situation on the ground, which was already dreadful due to COVID-19, and the ensuing humanitarian suffering.

Working more than 55 hours a week increases the risk of death from heart disease and stroke, according to a United Nations study out Monday.

The report by the UN’s World Health Organization and International Labor Organization agencies comes as the Covid-19 pandemic accelerates workplace changes that could reinforce the tendency to work longer hours.

The WHO-ILO study, published in the journal Environment International, is the first global analysis of the risks to life and health associated with working long hours.

It does not focus on the pandemic but on the preceding years. The authors synthesised data from dozens of studies involving hundreds of thousands of participants.

“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” said Maria Neira, director of the WHO’s environment, climate change and health department.

“It’s time that we all — governments, employers, and employees — wake up to the fact that long working hours can lead to premature death.”

The study concluded that working 55 hours or more per week was associated with an estimated 35% increase in the risk of suffering a stroke, and a 17% rise in the risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35 to 40 hours.

Pandemic increased working hours

The WHO and the ILO estimated that in 2016, 398,000 people died from a stroke and 347,000 from heart disease after working at least 55 hours per week.

Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths due to heart disease linked to long working hours increased by 42%, while the figure for strokes went up by 19%.

Most of the recorded deaths were among people aged 60 to 79, who had worked 55 hours or more per week when they were between 45 and 74 years old.

“With working long hours now known to be responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease, it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden,” the WHO said.

The organisation also said that the coronavirus crisis was speeding up developments that could feed the trend towards increased working time.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way many people work,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work. In addition, many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours.

“No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers.”

ISLAMABAD, May 17 (DNA): Slope planting technology in China to help Pakistan enhancing its tea production, accoding to a report published by Gwadar Pro.

“The biggest challenges that Pakistan tea industry faces is that the price of fresh tea leaves is too low compared with other countries,” said Dr. Abdul Waheed, Director of National Tea and High-Value Crops Research Institute (NTHRI）.

“It takes around 6 to 7 years for tea trees to grow and start its yield. The farmers cannot wait for that long, they need earnings for their daily living. 

Secondly, our farmers have less amount of landholding. They just have 3 to 4 kanals of land. We should increase the price so that the farmers can happily process tea and supply it to our factories.”

thinks that Pakistan should make a special area for tea planting. “All the countries that have grown tea like Kenya, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Brondi or other countries have fixed a special area for tea. In Kenya, they called the army to protect that land. 

They did not let anyone cultivate other crops there other than tea. We have had a meeting on this with the government but haven’t got the final approval is still left. This time, we are introducing a cluster-based system, in which we have 121 clusters.”

“Right now, the tea produced in our country is not enough for the domestic requirement. If we establish a Tea Board, we can use the forest and hilly areas for growing tea.” Naeem Ahmed, Assistant Technical Officer suggested. “Government should get involved in the process of commercialization and makes policies. 

Like in Turkey, they have a state reserved for only growing tea. Due to a large number of cultivation fields, they also get lots of revenue. We also need machinery for tea cultivation.”

“China is a huge country that exports tea and it has more experience. If there can be a collaboration at the government level or some Ministry like Ministry of Agriculture and Food, we can get machinery and experience from them.” 

Naeem believes that cooperation with China can help enhance Pakistan tea production. “People working here should be trained in China so that their work capacity increases. And people from China also should come to Pakistan.”

Chinese technologies in tea production also interest Abdul, especially the slope land agriculture technology. “All of our hilly areas are like a slope. The technology will help us to manage this and allow us to irrigate it. 

If people start planting tea, it will help us de-salt and fertilize the land. The CPEC project passes near our office. I wish that the containers that come from China should return with loads of tea instead of going empty.”=DNA

=======