Maldives State of Emergency Worries UN
United Nations: A senior UN official has told Maldives Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim about Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's concerns over the declaration of a state of emergency there by President Abdulla Yameen, according to a UN spokesperson.
Miroslav Jenca, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, spoke to Asim and directly relayed to him the concerns Guterres had expressed in his statement on the Maldives, Farhan Haq, the Secretary-General's spokesperson, said here Thursday. In the statement released on Tuesday, Guterres asked the Maldives government "to uphold the constitution and rule of law, lift the state of emergency as soon as possible, and take all measures to ensure the safety and security of the people in the country, including members of the judiciary."
On Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein made a harsh criticism of Yameen. "President Yameen has, to put it bluntly, usurped the authority of the State's rule-of-law institutions and its ability to work independently from the executive," he said. "I am seriously concerned that the measures taken appear to go beyond those permissible during a state of emergency, restricting the basic tenets of democracy and undermining respect for fundamental rights in the country," he said.
Yameen clamped down the state of emergency on Monday after the Supreme Court overturned the terrorism conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed, who lives in exile in Britain, as well as the convictions of eight other politicians on several charges. It also ordered the reinstatement of 12 suspended opposition members of parliament.
Two of the five Supreme Court judges were arrested by government forces and the other three overturned the court's unanimous ruling ordering the release of the nine politicians. Guterres statement said he was seriously concerned about the entry of security forces into the Supreme Court. The UN Mission of Kuwait, which is the president of the Security Council, had said that Jenca was expected to brief the Council during a closed briefing session on Thursday. Kuwait's Permanent Representative Mansour Al-Otaibi, who briefed reporters on the day's Council proceedings would not confirm if the briefing had taken place.
IANS
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A woman was killed and four other civilians were injured in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district as the Pakistan army intensified artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, officials said, adding that a large number of houses have also been damaged in the cross-border shelling.
Reports state that a Pakistani shell struck the vehicle the woman was traveling in, resulting in her death. The woman was identified as Nargis Bashir, and some of her family members had boarded a vehicle to flee from the Razarwani village in Uri that was hit by the mortar and artillery shells from Pakistan.
In an attempt to educate and make people aware about the consequences of war amid Pakistan's continuous firing in the border states, the Delhi government did a mock drill to test air raid sirens installed at the Public Works Department (PWD) at ITO and asked people to not react out of panic.
District Magistrate (Central) G. Sudhakar also urged people to remain calm and not be alarmed when they hear the sirens.
At least twice, sirens sounded during the drill, which started at 3 pm.
PWD Minister Parvesh Verma said 40-50 more such sirens will be installed across the national capital, each of which will cover an area of 8 km.
Residents present in Rajouri along the Line of Control have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan. All drone and missile attacks were intercepted and foiled by India's air defence system.
#WATCH | J&K | Residents of Rajouri living along the LOC have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan.
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025
All drone and missile attacks were intercepted by India's air defence system and foiled,… pic.twitter.com/XITK0CsejT
Pakistan has claimed that its Economic Affairs Division account on social media has been hacked and called the post where it appealed for more loans from the international community owing to losses from Operation Sindoor "fake."
In a post on X, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fact Checker shared a picture of the post and mentioned that it was "fake." Additionally, it asserted that the account had undergone hacking.
A missile-like object is found deep inside the Dal Lake after loud explosions were heard on Saturday morning in Srinagar, which is a major tourist attraction. The defense ministry also confirms that Pakistan has intruded into Srinagar's airspace in a press release.
Since the early hours of Saturday morning (10th May), Srinagar has been rocked with multiple explosions, and now electricity is taken off in various places across Kashmir. The reason for this is yet to be determined, as reports indicate multiple places in Kashmir have lost power. The Indian Army released a statement after the press briefing, where they mentioned that they have attacked and neutralized multiple terrorist launchpads in a coordinated fire assault, razing them to cinders.