India remains on major illicit drug producing nations list: Trump administration

Agencies
September 12, 2018

Washington, Sept 12: US President Donald Trump has identified India along with 21 other countries as among the major illicit drug producing or transit nations.

Other Asian countries identified as major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries are Afghanistan, Pakistan and Myanmar.

The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela, are other countries listed in the group, as per a presidential determination.

"A country's presence on the foregoing list is not necessarily a reflection of its government's counter narcotics efforts or level of cooperation with the United States," Trump said.

The reasons countries are placed on the list is the combination of geographic, commercial, and economic factors that allow drugs to transit or be produced, even if a government has engaged in robust and diligent narcotics control measures, he said.

Simultaneously, Trump designated Bolivia and Venezuela as countries that have failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counter-narcotic agreements. He also determined that support for programs to aid the promotion of democracy in Venezuela are vital to the national interests of the United States.

Asserting that combatting the ongoing United States opioid epidemic is one of his Administration's most urgent priorities, Trump said his government has dedicated nearly USD 4 billion in additional funding to confront this national crisis.

The Trump Administration is committed to addressing all factors fueling the drug crisis, which is devastating communities across America, including steps to curb over-prescription, expand access to treatment and recovery programs, improve public education programs to prevent illicit drug use before it begins, and to strengthening domestic drug enforcement at the borders, he said.

"Alongside these massive and historic United States efforts, I expect the governments of countries where illicit drugs originate and through which they transit to similarly strengthen their commitments to reduce dangerous drug production and trafficking,? Trump said.

In his presidential determination, Trump expressed his deep concerns that illicit drug crops have expanded over successive years in Colombia, Mexico, and Afghanistan, and are now at record levels.

Drug production and trafficking in these three countries directly affect the US national interests and the health and safety of American citizens, he said.

"Heroin originating from Mexico and cocaine from Colombia are claiming thousands of lives annually in the United States. Afghanistan's illicit opium economy promotes corruption, funds the Taliban, and undermines that country's security, which thousands of United States service men and women help defend," Trump said.

Despite the efforts of law enforcement and security forces, these countries are falling behind in the fight to eradicate illicit crops and reduce drug production and trafficking, he rued.

As such, Trump said that these governments must redouble their efforts to rise to the challenge posed by the criminal organisations producing and trafficking these drugs, and achieve greater progress over the coming year in stopping and reversing illicit drug production and trafficking.

The US will continue its strong support for international efforts against drug production and trafficking, as well as to strengthen prevention and treatment efforts in the United States, he added.

India has been on the list since 2004 when President George W. Bush first issued it under a 2003 law enacted by Congress and President Barack Obama continued to keep it there.

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News Network
October 29,2024

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At least 60 people, including children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on several areas in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese Health Ministry says.

The ministry said at least 58 people were also wounded in the attacks on 12 areas in the Bekaa Valley on Monday.

Of the 60 killed, at least 16 deaths were recorded in al-Alaq, west of Baalbek city, the ministry added.

The casualty figures were preliminary and are expected to rise as rescue efforts were still ongoing, according to to the ministry.

Baalbek governor Bachir Khodr denounced the attacks on the area as the "most violent" since the start of the Israeli aggression.

Israel has been targeting Lebanon since October 2023, when it launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah has been responding to the aggression with numerous retaliatory operations, including one with a hypersonic ballistic missile, targeting the occupied Palestinian territories.

Since late September, Israel has escalated its strikes against Hezbollah, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and a number of its senior figures.

At least 2,710 people have been killed by Israeli fire, and 12,592 others wounded since the clashes began last year, the health ministry says.

The Lebanese resistance movement has vowed to keep up its operations against Israel as long as the Israeli regime continues its Gaza war, which has so far killed at least 43,020 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

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News Network
October 31,2024

Udupi: Falling prey to a sophisticated a “digital arrest” scam, Prameela (39) found herself defrauded of a staggering ₹11,87,463. The plot, orchestrated through deceptive tactics, left her financially devastated.

On October 25, Prameela received a call from an unknown number claiming a parcel, allegedly sent by one Wang Ming Zi, was flagged due to containing suspicious items: 5 kg of clothes, 8 ICICI credit cards, and 700 grams of MDMA. Adding to the urgency, the caller asserted that an FIR had already been filed against her.

The caller then transferred Prameela to a supposed representative of the 'Bombay Cyber Crime Branch,' who introduced himself as Manish Kumar, claiming to be a senior executive at DTDC Mumbai. Manish directed her to connect via Skype video call, asking her to download the app and search for the ID [email protected].

Once on the call, Prameela was requested to provide her Aadhaar card details, which she complied with. She soon received what appeared to be a formal arrest order listing her name, address, and Aadhaar information. Under pressure, Prameela disclosed her bank account details and balance to the caller. Exploiting this trust, the scammer then transferred ₹11,87,463 from her account.

Following the incident, Prameela lodged a complaint with the Shirva police, who have since registered a case under sections 316(2), 318(4), 351(2) of the BNS, and 66(C), 66(D) of the IT Act. The authorities are now investigating this alarming case of digital fraud.

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News Network
October 18,2024

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Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been martyred in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza's Rafah city, a senior Hamas official confirmed.

Khalil Hayya, head of Hamas in Gaza, delivered a statement on Friday, a day after reports of Sinwar's martyrdom. 

"We mourn the great national leader, the Mujahid Martyr Brother Yahya Al-Sinwar (Abu Ibrahim), Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Commander of Al-Aqsa Storm Operation," he said.

He remembered Sinwar as "one of the noblest and bravest men, a man who dedicated his life to Palestine and gave his soul for the sake of Allah on the path to its liberation."

"He rose as a heroic martyr, advancing and never retreating, wielding his weapon, engaging and confronting the occupation army at the frontlines. He moved between all combat positions, steadfast and stationed on the honored land of Gaza, defending the land of Palestine and its holy sites, inspiring the spirit of endurance, patience, steadfastness, and resistance."

Referring to the history of Sinwar's struggle against the Israeli regime, Hayya noted that the fallen leader "attained the highest rank and the noblest medal, ascending as a witness and a martyr, content with the jihad and sacrifice he offered."

Naming a host of other resistance leaders assassinated by the Israeli regime in the past years, the Hamas official noted that "these sacrifices will continue to illuminate our path and drive us to more resilience and steadfastness."

"Hamas remains committed to the promise of its founding leaders and martyrs until the aspirations of our people are fully realized: the complete liberation and return, and the establishment of the Palestinian state on the entire national soil with Al-Quds as its capital, by Allah’s will," he said, adding, "This will become a curse upon the invading occupiers who are strangers to this land."

He underlined that the martyrdom of leaders "only strengthens Hamas and our resistance, making us more determined and steadfast in following their path, honoring their blood and sacrifices."

He highlighted that Israeli captives held in Gaza "will not return except with the cessation of aggression on Gaza, its withdrawal, and the release of our heroic prisoners from the occupation’s jails."

The charismatic leader of the Palestinian resistance movement had escaped many assassination attempts before and after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7, 2023.

Sinwar, 62, played an instrumental role in coordinating and supervising the landmark operation that jolted the Zionist regime. 

Before becoming the Hamas leader in Gaza in 2017, Sinwar spent 22 years in an Israeli prison. He was released as part of a prisoner swap in 2011.

“Hamas will never abandon the path of resistance… Our resistance will continue until the liberation of all of Palestine,” he declared during a speech in Gaza in late October 2017.

Sinwar had been chosen as the overall Hamas leader after Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh in July.

Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, where he was to attend the inauguration ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

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