The US is grappling with a new wave of gun violence in one week that has led to multiple fatalities and injuries.

The latest shooting happened during a Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt in Oakland, US state of California, and left 15 people injured, reports Xinhua news agency, citing police statements.

The crowds were peaceful on Wednesday night when an illegal sideshow involving vehicles and motorbikes occurred near Grand Avenue and Bellevue Avenue, Oakland Police Department said in a press release.

During the sideshow, someone walked onto the hood of a car, which led to the occupants getting out and assaulting that person. Then came the gunfire, Oakland Police Department Chief Floyd Mitchell said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

The Oakland Fire Department said it transported at least four gunshot victims to a local hospital.

On Wednesday evening, seven people were wounded in a shooting in North Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania, local media reported.

The shooter or shooters departed the scene in a vehicle, which was captured by a nearby police camera. As investigators continue to delve into the case, no weapons have been found at the scene, and no arrests have been made thus far.

On Tuesday afternoon, a seven-year-old boy was killed in a “random shooting” on Chicago’s Near West Side, Chicago police said.

The boy was shot while exiting a building in the Oakley Square Apartments complex. Residents who live in the apartment complex said they do not allow their children to play outside for fear of random gun violence, local media reported.

“It’s a shame that I have to keep my child in prison in our home unless we’re going somewhere,” resident Rhonda Dyson was quoted as saying by CBS News.

The residents’ fear of being shot has a reason. So far this year, Chicago police said 127 children and teens under the age of 18 have been shot, 17 of them fatally, local media reported.

Over 190 mass shootings have occurred in the US in 2024 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more victims are shot or killed.

Experts said that mass shootings happening near election times often greatly influence the nation’s views on guns.

“If there are any particularly horrendous shootings in the months to come, that has a way of pushing the issue back to the forefront of the agenda,” Robert Spitzer, a gun policy expert, was quoted as saying by Stateline.

However, states continued to diverge on gun policy this year, with intense debate in the swing states that will decide the upcoming US presidential election.

According to a report released this month by the Pew Research Center, voters overall are divided over whether the increasing number of guns in the US is good or bad for society: 52 per cent say it is very or somewhat bad, while 22 per cent say it is good.

Perhaps no topic divides voters more deeply than the role that firearms have in American life, the report said. AGENCIES

The US will ban the sale of antivirus software made by Moscow-based cybersecurity company Kaspersky.

The company’s operations in the US presented a national security risk “due to the Russian government’s offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kaspersky’s operations,” the US Department of Commerce said in a statement on Thursday.

“Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the US or provide updates to software already in use.”

Private and professional users of Kaspersky’s widely installed antivirus software should find an alternative due to the risk, the Department added.

“Russia has shown time and again they have the capability and intent to exploit Russian companies, like Kaspersky Lab, to collect and weaponise sensitive US information, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to safeguard US national security and the American people,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.

The sale of Kaspersky software in the US will be banned from July 20.

The Russian multinational will be able to provide software updates to existing users until September 29.

Kaspersky’s software is designed to protect users against trojans, spyware and other cyber threats.

In the US, installation on government devices has been banned since 2017, and in Germany, the Federal Office for Information Security warns against using the software.

Kaspersky has denied its products pose a risk, stating it is a private global cybersecurity company with no ties to the Russian government. AGENCIES

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for global efforts to protect the 43.4 million refugees across the globe in a video message on World Refugee Day.

“From Sudan to Ukraine, from the Middle East to Myanmar to Congo and beyond, conflict, climate chaos and upheaval are forcing record numbers of people from their homes and fueling profound human suffering,” Guterres said on Thursday.

According to the latest figures, a total of more than 120 million people around the world are forcibly displaced, including 43.5 million refugees, Xinhua news agency reported.

World Refugee Day, celebrated annually on June 20, is about honouring their strength and courage, and stepping up efforts to protect and support refugees on every step of their journey, the UN Chief added.

Refugees need global solidarity and the ability to rebuild their lives in dignity, said Guterres, adding “When given the opportunity, refugees make significant contributions to their host communities, but they need access to equal opportunities and jobs, housing, and healthcare”.

Noting that young refugees need quality education to achieve their dreams, he said that host countries — mostly low- or middle-income countries — need the support and resources to fully include refugees in societies and economies.

“Let us pledge to reaffirm the world’s collective responsibility in assisting and welcoming refugees, in upholding their human rights, including the right to seek asylum, in safeguarding the integrity of the refugee protection regime, and ultimately, in resolving conflicts so that those forced from their communities can return home,” the UN Chief concluded.

World Refugee Day, an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe, was set for the first time on June 20, 2001, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. AGENCIES

 Ukraine and the EU have amended and extended their agreement on freight transport liberalisation, which was due to expire on June 30, for another year, the Ukrainian government press service reported.

The updated deal includes provisions for prolonging the cancellation of special permits for haulers travelling between Ukraine and the EU, Xinhua news agency reported.

At the same time, the agreement created new mutual obligations between the parties regarding transport licenses and the labelling of trucks.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the “transport visa-free regime” with the EU would contribute to Ukraine’s integration into the European economic space and spur the country’s economy.

“It will ensure positive dynamics of exports to the EU countries, which will make us more economically sustainable,” Shmyhal added.

According to him, in the past 18 months, Ukraine’s exports to the EU increased by 48 per cent backed by permit-free freight transport travel.

Ukraine and the EU signed the freight transport deal in June 2022.

At the end of last year, Polish carriers staged protests at several checkpoints on the Ukrainian border, demanding the return of the permit regime for Ukrainian haulers crossing into the EU.

The updated agreement includes a clause that a permit-free regime for Ukrainian carriers could be automatically extended until the end of 2025. AGENCIES

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is planning to expand the country’s construction of solar systems to stabilise the energy grid, which has been significantly impacted by Russian attacks.

“The government has been tasked with immediately presenting a program to encourage the installation of solar generation and energy storage systems in Ukraine,” Zelensky said in his daily video address on Thursday.

According to the plan, citizens who install solar panels will be able to receive an interest-free loan.

The President said that measures were taken to protect energy facilities from ongoing attacks by Russia and specific deadlines were established for the completion of the protective structures.

Zelensky pledged to build more facilities for decentralised energy supply to ensure administration and critical infrastructure buildings had an alternative energy source during power outages.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than two years.

Official figures show that about half of Ukraine’s energy production capacity has been lost due to systematic Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities with drones and missiles.

Strict energy rationing and daily power cuts have been implemented, with concerns about the situation worsening in the winter. AGENCIES

In yet another horrifying incident of mob lynching, a local tourist in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province’s Swat district was brutally lynched to death and his body burnt to ashes in the middle of the road over accusation of blasphemy.

The incident occurred in Madyan, a beautiful hill station in Swat, which gets flooded with tourists during the summer season.

The mob first brutally thrashed the alleged blasphemer, a tourist from Punjab province’s Sialkot who was visiting Madyan and other areas around it.

Later, as the police authorities arrested the tourist and took him into custody, the mob took matters into their own hands, torching the Madyan police station, dragging the tourist’s body outside and setting it on fire right in the middle of the road.

The incident occurred after some individuals announced in a market that a man had committed blasphemy.

The accused was apprehended by some people and handed over to police. But shortly afterward, announcements were made in the local mosques, calling on people to come out and punish the alleged blasphemer.

“Announcements were heard from mosques, calling on people to come out and reach the Madyan police station,” said a local resident of Madyan.

“The mob asked police to hand over the suspect to them but it was refused. Protesters forced their way into the police station. Police tried to disperse the crowd and shot some rounds of fire, which injured about eight people but could not stop the mob,” an eyewitness stated.

“People then set fire to the police station and a police vehicle, while the accused was burnt alive,” confirmed Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Zahidullah.

While an investigation has been initiated to ascertain the facts of the incident, this is not the first time that such an incident has occurred in Pakistan.

Recently, a man from a minority community was killed in Punjab’s Sargodha city on similar allegations. The tragic incident in Jaranwala where a Muslim mob torched dozens of Churches, houses and even graveyard of Christian minorities over alleged blasphemy accusations, still haunts and exposes the dangerous situation of religious polarisation that persists in Pakistan and is a ticking bomb ready to explode.

Last month, a mob protested and attacked multiple houses, broke windows, and set household belongings on fire in Punjab’s Sargodha over allegations of Quran desecration. A week later, a Christian man, who was severely injured in the attack, died at a hospital in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan faces massive challenges in terms of curbing religious extremism. In a recent report released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), religious minorities in Pakistan and the state of religious freedom in the country are fast deteriorating.   AGENCIES

Thousands of Israelis turned out for fresh protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in a renewed show of anger at the failure to agree on a ceasefire in Gaza and bring about the return of hostages.

According to Israeli media on Thursday, the largest rally took place in front of a private home of the Prime Minister in the city of Caesarea.

The demonstrators demanded new elections and the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds also gathered in Jerusalem for a protest, according to reports.

These are the latest in months of protests as people accuse Netanyahu of bowing to the demands of the ultra-orthodox partners in his right-wing coalition and obstructing a deal to release the Israeli hostages held by Palestinian Islamist organisation Hamas.

Some Ministers oppose an agreement with Hamas as it would also provide for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Israel continues to seek to eliminate Hamas, which attacked sites in southern Israel on October 7, killing nearly 1,200 people and abducting about 250 more to Gaza.

Israel responded by pounding Gaza with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive into the sealed-off Palestinian territory at the end of October.

More than 37,300 people have been killed and more than 85,000 injured in the course of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza.

Months of efforts have failed to bring about a breakthrough in indirect negotiations to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire and Hamas to release around 120 hostages. AGENCIES

Thailand is pushing forward with its plan to become a member of the BRICS group of emerging economies as early as October at the bloc’s next summit in Russia, a Thai Foreign Ministry official said.

Thailand submitted a formal letter of intent to join during the BRICS ministerial meeting more than a week ago and hoped to receive positive feedback, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura on Thursday, in a bid to become the group’s first member from Southeast Asia.

Joining BRICS would allow Thailand to leverage further in advancing South-South cooperation as well as to play a more proactive role and contribute to crafting the global architecture, Nikorndej told a news conference as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

Thailand places importance on prioritising multilateralism and strengthening the role of developing countries in the international arena, which aligns with BRICS principles, and participating in the group would also enhance the kingdom’s opportunities on the international stage, a government statement said.

The BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In January, the bloc expanded its membership to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Ethiopia. AGENCIES

 Russian President Vladimir Putin has said South Korea would be making a “big mistake” if it supplies arms to Ukraine.

“If that happens, then we will make corresponding decisions that will not please the current leadership of South Korea,” Putin said on Thursday during a trip to Vietnam.

The South Korean government had earlier expressed concern over a new Russia-North Korea strategic partnership that includes a vow of mutual aid if either country is attacked.

Seoul said the security commitments violated UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

It also suggested it could reconsider its long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to Kiev.

North Korea, ruled by President Kim Jong Un, is subject to far-reaching UN sanctions and import bans due to its nuclear weapons programme, including the trade in weapons and the transfer of military technologies to the country.

During a state visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday, Putin signed the partnership agreement with Kim.

At a press conference in Hanoi on Thursday, Putin called Seoul’s concerns unfounded.

He said South Korea had nothing to fear as the pact would only apply if either Russia or North Korea was attacked by a third country.

“As far as I know, (South Korea) is not planning any aggression” against North Korea, he said.

This means that “there is no need to fear our cooperation”.

Putin also said that he would not deploy any North Korean soldiers in Ukraine.

However, he threatened to deliver high-precision weapons to North Korea as a response to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. AGENCIES

The International Day of Yoga is being celebrated in several countries across the world, including Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, and Malaysia, which witnessed enthusiastic participation in events organised by the Indian missions.

These events underscored the global appeal of yoga and its benefits for a healthy lifestyle.

In Japan, despite the inclement weather, the Indian Embassy in Tokyo celebrated the 10th International Day of Yoga at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple. The event saw overwhelming participation from a large number of people.

The embassy shared pictures on X saying, “Rain or shine Yoga in Japan: Celebrations of the 10th IDY by the Indian Embassy in Tokyo at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple witnessed an overwhelming participation from Japanese leadership, diplomats, Yoga enthusiasts & friends of India in Japan.”

In New Zealand, the Indian High Commission celebrated the day with Indian community members, Kiwi friends, and representatives of various yoga institutes.

The embassy posted, “10th International Day of Yoga 2024 was celebrated at the High Commission with Indian community members, Kiwi friends & representatives of various Yoga Institutes. Yoga has indeed become a global movement with a positive impact on many lives.”

In Thailand, several universities and institutions hosted yoga events in collaboration with the Indian Embassy.

At Siam University, an event saw significant participation from students and faculty and was graced by Thailand President Pornchai Mongkhonvanit.

In Papua New Guinea, the High Commission of India organised a yoga event in Port Moresby, attended by diaspora members, PNGeans, and diplomats.

“Diaspora, PNGeans and Diplomats joined to practice yoga at an event organised by the High Commission of India in Port Moresby. NCD Governor Powes Parkop encouraged the community to make it a mass movement spreading the benefits of yoga to communities,” the embassy shared in a post on X.

In Malaysia, a mega yoga celebration was held at the iconic Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, commemorating the yoga day. This event highlighted the widespread appreciation and adoption of yoga across diverse cultures and regions, further solidifying its role as a global movement for wellness and unity. AGENCIES