International THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021 Taleban launch assault on Afghan provincial capital From hope to despair: South Sudan marks 10 troubled years Page 6 Page 7

AMSTERDAM: People gather by the site of an attack during which a Dutch journalist specialized in crime, Peter R de Vries (seen inset) was seriously injured in a shooting on Tuesday. — AFP Dutch crime reporter ‘fighting for life’ De Vries shot multiple times in broad daylight : Prominent Dutch crime reporter victims - was “fighting for his life”, Amsterdam may- and ,” he said. kind of national figure, someone who is really con- Peter R de Vries was fighting for his life in a Dutch or Femke Halsema told a news conference late on De Vries was shot at around 7:30 pm local time trarian, who dares to go against the rest, so some- hospital yesterday after being shot multiple times, Tuesday. Eyewitnesses told local media that the 64- (1730 GMT) - still daylight at this time of year in one who has my heart actually,” he said. including in the head, in what the EU chief year-old journalist and TV presenter was shot up to Amsterdam - as he left a television studio after Rutte and Justice Minister Ferdinand described as “an attack on our values”. five times, including once in the head. appearing on a talk show. daily newspa- Grapperhaus met at the Dutch National Amsterdam police chief Frank Paauw said three per quoted a resident as saying she heard five shots Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism people had been arrested, among them the sus- ‘Shocking and inconceivable’ and went out to see what had happened. She said (NCTV) on Tuesday evening to discuss the shoot- pected shooter, but gave no details on the possi- Dutch media reported yesterday that De Vries, she saw de Vries lying on the ground with a lot of ing. “This is a black day, not only for the people ble reasons for the attack. known for his hard-hitting reporting, has been blood on his face. She told the paper that he close to Peter R de Vries, but also for the freedom De Vries, who first won fame for his inside threatened several times in the past. Since last year, couldn’t speak but was still alive, and that she held of the press,” Justice Minister Ferdinand reporting on the kidnapping of millionaire Freddy he has been acting as an advisor and confidante of his hand as they waited for emergency services. Grapperhaus told journalists. Heineken in 1983, was shot up to five times in front the main prosecution witness in the case against The Committee to Protect Journalists called for of shocked bystanders as he left a television studio Ridouan Taghi, described as the ’ most ‘National figure’ authorities to “determine if he was targeted for his in a busy Amsterdam street on Tuesday. The attack wanted criminal, whose organization was described At the scene of the shooting, shocked residents work, and ensure that the attacker and the master- sparked widespread condemnations, with Europe’s as a “well-oiled killing machine by prosecutors”. were laying flowers and lighting candles. “Pieter R minds of the attack face justice”. Messages of soli- top official Charles Michel calling it a “crime against Prime Minister told a press confer- de Vries is an extraordinarily courageous crime darity flooded Dutch social media, including from journalism and an attack on our values of democra- ence in The Hague the attack was “shocking and journalist who tries to correct the errors of the judi- the royal family, who posted on their official cy and rule of law.” inconceivable”. “It’s an attack on a courageous jour- ciary and has succeeded many times,” Amsterdam Facebook page that they were deeply shocked by De Vries - a celebrity journalist in the nalist and by extension an attack on the freedom of resident Daniel van Duijn, 29, told AFP. “I think the the news, and that de Vries and his loved ones were Netherlands known for speaking on behalf of crime the press, which is so essential for our democracy whole of the Netherlands grew up with him, he’s a in their thoughts. — AFP

current situation of the country and finding a solu- Afghan govt meets tion through talks,” Mujahid added. In his opening remarks, the Iranian foreign minister hailed the “defeat” of US troops after two decades of war that Taleban in Tehran had caused “extensive damage” but warned of the 12 Indian ministers TEHRAN: An Afghan government delegation met “unfavorable results of continuing the conflict”. with Taleban representatives in Tehran yesterday, resign in reshuffle the Iranian foreign ministry said, as the Islamist mili- ‘Foreign occupiers’ tia pressed a lightning advance amid the pullout of Iran hosts several million Afghan refugees and NEW DELHI: Twelve Indian ministers US troops. Opening the talks, Iran’s Foreign migrant workers and is deeply concerned about the resigned yesterday including the health minister Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed the intensifying turmoil in the neighboring country. Zarif following a catastrophic surge in COVID-19 departure of its US foe from its eastern borders but appealed to the warring parties in Afghanistan to cases earlier this year. The resignations form return to the negotiating table, calling “commitment part of a major reshuffle by Prime Minister warned: “Today the people and political leaders of Abbas Stanikzai Younus Qanooni Afghanistan must make difficult decisions for the to political solutions the best choice for Narendra Modi ahead of seven state elections future of their country.” Afghanistan’s leaders and political movements”. in 2022. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, 66, Deputy chief negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas “We are proud to have stood alongside our noble But yesterday, the Taleban attacked the Badghis came in for particular criticism during the spike Stanikzai headed the Taleban delegation while for- Afghan brothers and sisters during the jihad against provincial capital Qalat-i-Naw, the first regional in infections in April and May. mer vice president Younus Qanooni represented the the foreign occupiers,” he added, in a video excerpt seat they have entered since the launch of their lat- The health service was under severe pres- government, the Iranian ministry said. Taleban of his speech released by the ministry. est offensive, local officials said. The insurgents sure in many areas with hospitals running out of spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed On Tuesday, Afghan authorities vowed to retake already control all of the surrounding countryside in beds, medical oxygen and drugs. The COVID- Stanikzai’s visit to Tehran to “discuss issues of all the districts lost to the Taleban as the pullout of the western province. The US Central Command 19 explosion was blamed on new virus variants mutual interest”. But he made no reference to any US forces neared completion. Hundreds of com- meanwhile announced that the American withdrawal and the government having allowed mass reli- Afghan government delegation, saying only that mandos were deployed to counter the insurgents’ from the country, ordered in April by President Joe gious and political gatherings to take place in Stanikzai was holding talks with “some Afghan per- blistering offensive in the north, a day after more Biden, was now more than 90 percent complete, January, February and March. sonalities”. than 1,000 government troops fled into neighboring underscoring that Afghan forces are increasingly on Modi had declared victory over the virus in “They will discuss and exchange opinions on the Tajikistan. their own in the battle with the Taleban. — AFP January and critics say his government failed to use the time to prepare the historically under- funded health system for another wave. India’s official death toll has exploded from around Lebanon crisis plunges 160,000 at the end of March to more than 400,000 now, the third-highest in the world. women into period poverty But many experts suspect that due to under- counting and incorrect recording of the cause BEIRUT: With prices soaring in cri- cloth,” she said. “At first, I felt defeat- of death, the real number of dead could be sev- sis-hit Lebanon, Sherine can no longer ed,” the young mother told AFP, her eral times higher. afford sanitary pads. So instead each hair tied up in a bun. “But I chose to put month, she is forced to make her own my daughter first. I would rather buy Elections using baby nappies or even rags. “With her milk. As for me, I can make do.” Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for law and jus- all the price hikes and the frustration of But that has often meant repurpos- tice and information technology, also resigned, not being able to manage, I’d rather ing some of the diapers a charity shop according to a statement from the president’s stop having my period altogether,” the has given her for her toddler, cutting office. Prasad, 66, a close ally of Modi, was how- 28-year-old told AFP, tears rolling each in half to create two separate ever expected to be given an important role in down her cheeks. pads. She said the process has been Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the The price of menstrual pads, the one of trial and error. In the beginning, state elections, press reports said. vast majority of which are imported, “I was always having to check if Seven Indian states are due to hold elections has risen by almost 500 percent since (blood) had leaked and stained my BEIRUT: Employee Izdihar prepares sanitary pads from diapers at a charity store on June 23, 2021. —AFP next year, six of them currently ruled by the BJP. the start of a financial crisis the World pants,” she said. They include Uttar Pradesh, India’s most popu- Bank has dubbed likely one of the lous state, Gujarat and Punjab. Earlier this year world’s worst since the 1850s. Packs of Newspaper, toilet paper launched last year to address rising thirds of adolescent girls have no the BJP suffered a major setback when it failed sanitary towels now cost between The Lebanese pound has lost more period poverty in Lebanon. The group means of purchasing sanitary products. to wrest power in the important eastern state of 13,000 and 35,000 Lebanese pounds - than 90 percent of its value against distributes free menstrual products to Yet the association is struggling to West Bengal from a high-profile Modi critic. between $8.60 and $23 at the official the dollar on the black market since women in need, including some who keep up. “We aren’t able to meet Some commentators said this was a reflection of exchange rate - up from just 3,000 the autumn of 2019, and Lebanese were once members of the fast-vanish- demand... because donations have Modi’s falling popularity because of his handling pounds ($2) before the economic crisis. earning salaries in the local currency ing middle class. “Middle-class women declined significantly,” Masri said. At a of the pandemic. The BJP did however retain With more than half the population have seen their buying power plum- also need them - like a bank employee Beirut charity store initially set up to Assam in the northeast. Prasad has been locked living in poverty, tens of thousands of met. The government has subsidized whose salary in Lebanese pounds is no distribute free clothes to the needy, in a bitter dispute in recent months with foreign women are now on a desperate hunt for essential goods including medicine, longer enough to get by,” said co- employee Izdihar said a growing num- social media companies. His ministry authored affordable alternatives. Sherine initially fuel and flour to ease the blow, but has founder Line Masri. ber of women were struggling to man- rule changes that require the firms to remove turned to cheap sanitary pads that she come under fire for failing to include According to Dawrati, half of age their periods. Izdihar said she even and identify the “first originator” of posts said caused skin irritation, but even pads on its list. women suffering from period poverty sometimes had to resort to giving baby deemed to undermine India’s sovereignty, state those have become too costly. “Right In the absence of state support, the are using newspaper, toilet paper or diapers from the store to her three security or public order. — AFP now, I’m using towels and pieces of Dawrati (My Period) initiative was old rags instead of pads, while two- daughters, aged 12 to 14. — AFP