United News of Bangladesh

The Irrawaddy dolphin calf — sick and too weak to swim — was drowning in a tidal pool on Thailand’s shore when fishermen found him. The fishermen quickly alerted marine conservationists, who advised them how to provide emergency care until a rescue team could transport the baby to Thailand’s Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center for veterinary attention. The baby was nicknamed Paradon, roughly translated as “brotherly burden,” because those involved knew from day one that saving his life would be no easy task. Irrawaddy dolphins, considered a vulnerable species by International Union for Conservation of Nature, are found in the shallow coastal waters of South and Southeast Asia and in three rivers in Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia. Their survival is threatened by habitat loss, pollution and illegal fishing. Officials from the marine research center believe around 400 Irrawaddy dolphins remain along the country’s eastern coast, bordering Cambodia. Since Paradon was found by the fishermen July 22, dozens of veterinarians and volunteers have helped care for him at the center in Rayong on the Gulf of Thailand. “We said among ourselves that the chance of him surviving was quite low, judging from his condition,” Thanaphan Chomchuen, a veterinarian at the center, said Friday. “Normally, dolphins found stranded on the shore are usually in such a terrible condition. The chances that these dolphins would survive are normally very, very slim. But we gave him our best try on that day.” Workers placed him in a seawater pool, treated the lung infection that made him so sick and weak, and enlisted volunteers to watch him round the clock. They have to hold him up in his tank to prevent him from drowning and feed him milk, initially done by tube, and later by bottle when he had recovered a bit of strength. A staff veterinarian and one or two volunteers stay for each eight-hour shift, and other workers during the day handle the water pump and filter and making milk for the calf. After a month, Paradon’s condition is improving. The calf believed to be between 4 and 6 months old can swim now and has no signs of infection. But the dolphin that was 138 centimeters long (4.5 feet) and around 27 kilograms (59 pounds) on July 22 is still weak and doesn’t take enough milk despite the team’s efforts to feed him every 20 minutes Thippunyar Thipjuntar, a 32-year-old financial adviser, is one of the many volunteers who come for a babysitting shift with Paradon. Thippunya said with Paradon’s round baby face and curved mouth that looks like a smile, she couldn’t help but grow attached to him and be concerned about his development. “He does not eat enough but rather just wants to play. I am worried that he does not receive enough nutrition,” she told The Associated Press on Friday as she fed the sleepy Paradon, cradled in her arm. “When you invest your time, physical effort, mental attention, and money to come here to be a volunteer, of course you wish that he would grow strong and survive.” Read: Govt finalizes the "Dolphin Conservation Action Plan" Sumana Kajonwattanakul, director of the marine center, said Paradon will need long-term care, perhaps as much as a year, until he is weaned from milk and is able to hunt for his own food.   “If we just release him when he gets better, the problem is that he he won’t be able to have milk. We will have to take care of him until he has his teeth, then we must train him to eat fish, and be part of a pod. This will take quite some time,” Sumana said. Paradon’s caregivers believe the extended tender loving care is worth it. “If we can save one dolphin, this will help our knowledge, as there have not been many successful cases in treating this type of animal,” said veterinarian Thanaphan. “If we can save him and he survives, we will have learned so much from this.”   “Secondly, I think by saving him, giving him a chance to live, we also raise awareness about the conservation of this species of animal, which are rare, with not many left.”

Malaysia’s top court on Saturday condemned as a smear attempt the leaking of an alleged guilty verdict against the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak days after he was imprisoned for graft linked to the looted 1MDB state fund. The High Court is due to deliver its verdict Thursday in Rosmah Mansor’s graft trial over a 1.25-billion-ringgit ($279-million) solar energy project. Najib began a 12-year prison term Tuesday after losing his final appeal in one of the five graft cases against him involving 1MDB. The Malaysia Today website, run by a Malaysian blogger now based in England, posted a 71-page document it described as containing a guilty judgment against Rosmah. The report late Friday alleged the verdict was written by unknown people and not by the High Court judge handling Rosmah's case. Also read: Jailed Malaysian ex-PM Najib returns to court for 1MDB trial The Chief Registrar office of the Federal Court, Malaysia's top court, condemned the website's action as “a deliberate act" to smear the court's reputation. It said it has lodged a complaint with police and vowed the court would not be cowed by attempts to threaten the administration of justice. “This office stresses that the judiciary will not be harassed by illegal and irresponsible acts meant to tarnish the integrity of the country’s judicial system,” the statement said. Police said the leaked document was an initial draft prepared by the Kuala Lumpur High Court's research unit. “The document is a research work on the ongoing trial and is the view of the research unit for the judge's reference," said a police statement. According to the court, the document will be amended based on research findings and further studies and “is not a judgment," it said. The court complained the leaked document has also been edited from the original, police said, without giving further details. Just four days ago, the chief registrar also filed a police report against Malaysia Today for publishing a document it said was the Federal Court's guilty verdict against Najib, just before the ruling was read out in court. The court has said the leaked document was a working draft of the ruling. Rosmah faces three charges of soliciting bribes and receiving 6.5 million ringgit ($1.5 million) between 2016 and 2017 to help a company secure a project to provide solar energy panels to schools on Borneo Island. If she is found guilty, Rosmah is expected to remain out on bail for her appeal to higher courts. Najib, his wife and several senior officials have faced corruption charges since the 1MDB scandal sparked public anger that forced his government out of office in 2018. He says he is innocent and was misled by others. Rosmah's defense lawyers argued an aide who testified against her was a corrupt liar. Also read: Malaysia top court upholds ex-PM Najib's graft conviction Despite his conviction, Najib remains influential in his United Malays National Organization party, which returned to power after defections caused the collapse of the reformist government that won the 2018 polls. Najib cannot compete in general elections due in September 2023 unless he gets a royal pardon, as his supporters are advocating.

Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across much of Pakistan have killed nearly 1,000 people and injured and displaced thousands more since mid-June, officials said Saturday. The new death toll came a day after Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked for international help in battling deadly flood damage in the impoverished Islamic nation. The monsoon season, which began in June, has lashed Pakistan with particularly heavy rains this year and rescuers have struggled to evacuate thousands of marooned people from flood-hit areas. The crisis has forced the government to declare a state of emergency. Also read: Pakistan seeks international help for flood victims In northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, flooding destroyed the gates of a major water control system at the Swat River, leading to flooding in the districts of Charsadda and Nowshera, said Sania Safi, a top administrator in Charsadda. “We preempted the situation and warned and forced hesitating residents to leave their homes for safety and move to relief camps established at government buildings in safe places,” she said. Safi said there was concern of further rising of the Swat and Kabul rivers, adding to the misery of residents who have already suffered the loss of lives and property. In Nowshera district, local administrator Quratul Ain Wazir said flood waters submerged streets before the gushing waters headed toward low-lying areas. Also read: Official: Flooding in eastern Afghanistan kills at least 9 “Our administration has evacuated many people and taken others to relief camps where government provided beds and food in safe buildings," she said. ... "We will use police to force those hesitant to leave their homes.” Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said soldiers and rescue organizations were helping people to reach safety in many districts of southern Sindh, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eastern Punjab and southwestern Baluchistan provinces. “Government has sanctioned sufficient funds to financially compensate the affected people and we will not leave our people alone in this tough time,” she said. Aurangzeb asked wealthy people and relief organizations to come forward with aid to help flood-affected Pakistanis. In response to Sharif's appeal for international aid, the United Nations planned a $160 million flash appeal for donations, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Asim Iftikhar. He said in his weekly briefing Friday that the appeal will be launched Aug. 30. The picturesque Kalam Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is one of the areas most affected by the rains and flooding. Waters from overflowing rivers swept away entire buildings, including an iconic hotel. “The situation is pretty serious as we don't have any road link left with the rest of the province, we don't have electricity, gas and communications network and no relief is reaching here,” said Muzaffar Khan, whose grocery store was swept away along with many other shops. Thousands whose homes were swept away now live in tents, miles away from their inundated villages and towns, after being rescued by soldiers, local disaster workers and volunteers, authorities said. In Baluchistan, Asadullah Nasir, a spokesperson at the provincial disaster management authority said all 34 districts of the impoverish province were badly affected due to the heavy rains and subsequent flooding. He said road networks were destroyed and bridges washed away and relief is possible only with helicopters, which are not often able to operate because of bad weather. He said provincial officials have confirmed 235 deaths but the number was expected to increase significantly after communications are restored. The National Disaster Management Authority in its latest overnight report said 45 people were killed in flood-related incidents from Friday to Saturday. That brought the death toll since mid-June to 982 with 1,456 injured. Monsoon rains were expected to continue this week, mainly in the south and southwest. The season usually runs from July to mid September in Pakistan. Heavy rains and subsequent flash floods have damaged bridges, roads network across Pakistan, disrupting the supply of fruit and vegetables to markets and causing a hike in prices.

Philippine coast guard personnel and volunteers have rescued more than 80 passengers and crew of an inter-island ferry that caught fire as it approached a port south of Manila, prompting many to jump into the water as flames spread fast in windy weather, officials said Saturday. Only two passengers are unaccounted for and authorities are checking if the two are missing or had been rescued but immediately went home without notifying officials who led the search efforts Friday, the coast guard said. The M/V Asia Philippines was listed as carrying 49 passengers and 38 crewmembers. The ferry, which came from Calapan city in Oriental Mindoro province, was more than a kilometer (about a mile) away from the Batangas port, when smoke emerged from the second deck followed by flames, according to one of the rescued passengers. The ferry’s proximity to the port allowed the rapid rescue of the victims even after nightfall by coast guard vessels and nearby ships, motor bancas and tugboats. One ship helped the coast guard extinguish the fire, which gutted the ferry that also carried at least 16 cars and trucks, coast guard officials said. Passenger Benedict Fernandez told DZMM radio Friday night that smoke and flames suddenly rose from the second deck as crew members were apparently trying to turn an engine on and off as the ferry approached the port. There was no immediate order to abandon ship, but when it became hard to see because of the smoke, he said he decided to jump into the water with his two children from the third deck, along with other passengers. “I pushed my children off because if we didn’t jump from the top, we would really get burned because the soles of our feet were already feeling the heat,” Fernandez said. They were rescued from the water by another boat that approached the burning ship and then transferred to a tugboat, which brought them to port, he said. Pictures released by the coast guard showed its personnel trying to revive a rescued passenger, a 43-year-old woman, at the port before she was taken to a hospital with injuries. Fernandez said he and his two children, who were shaken by the experience, and other passengers were taken to a hotel by officials of the company that owned the ferry. Read: Philippine ferry carrying 82 people catches fire; 73 rescued The ferry, which has been towed to an anchorage area, can carry about 400 passengers, the coast guard said, adding an investigation was underway. In the past, there have been instances when ferries carried unlisted passengers in defiance of regulations. Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces. In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

A Philippine ferry carrying 82 passengers and crew caught fire as it was approaching a port south of Manila on Friday, and at least 73 of those aboard have been rescued, including many who jumped into the water, the coast guard and survivors said. Search and rescue efforts were continuing after nightfall for the passengers and crew of the M/V Asia Philippines, an inter-island cargo and passenger vessel which came from nearby Calapan city in Oriental Mindoro province, the coast guard said. A 44-year-old woman who was among those rescued was taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries. Video released by the coast guard showed flames and black smoke billowing from the ferry, which was near other ships more than a kilometer (about a mile) from the Batangas port’s anchorage area, coast guard officials said. Read: Man opens fire on Philippine campus, killing 3 people A ship helped coast guard vessels extinguish the fire, they said. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Passenger Benedict Fernandez told DZMM radio that smoke and flames suddenly rose from the second deck as crew members were apparently trying to turn an engine on and off as the ferry approached the port. There was no immediate order to abandon ship, but when it became hard to see because of the smoke, he said he decided to jump into the water with his two children from the third deck, along with other passengers. “I pushed my children off because if we didn't jump from the top, we would really get burned because the soles of our feet were already feeling the heat,” Fernandez said. They were rescued from the water by another boat that approached the burning ship and then transferred to a tugboat, which brought them to port, he said. The ferry, which was carrying 48 passengers, 34 crewmembers and 16 vehicles, can carry about 400 passengers, the coast guard said. In the past, there have been instances when ferries carried unlisted passengers in defiance of regulations. Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces. In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

Taiwan’s leader on Friday said China and Russia are “disrupting and threatening the world order” through Beijing’s recent large-scale military exercises near the island and Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. President Tsai Ing-wen was speaking during a meeting in Taipei with U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who is on the second visit by members of Congress since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip earlier this month. That visit prompted China to launch the exercises that saw it fire numerous missiles and send dozens of warplanes and ships to virtually surround the island, including across the center line in the Taiwan Strait that has long been a buffer between the sides. China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Beijing has also boosted relations with Russia and is seen as tacitly supporting its attack on Ukraine. “These developments demonstrate how authoritarian countries are disrupting and threatening the world order,” Tsai said. Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, reaffirmed shared values between the two governments and said she “looked forward to continuing to support Taiwan as they push forward as an independent nation.” China sees high-level foreign visits to the island as interference in its affairs and de facto recognition of Taiwanese sovereignty. China’s recent military drills were seen by some as a rehearsal of future military action against the island, which U.S. military leaders say could come within the next few years. Along with staging the exercises, China cut off contacts with the United States on vital issues — including military matters and crucial climate cooperation — raising concerns over a lasting, more aggressive approach by Beijing. It also called in U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns to formally complain. He later said China was overreacting in order to manufacture a crisis. Due to the separation of powers in the U.S. government, the executive branch has no authority to prevent legislators from making such foreign visits and Taiwan benefits from strong bipartisan support in Washington. China, whose ruling Communist Party wields total control over the country's politics, refuses to acknowledge that fundamental principle. U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said members of Congress and elected officials “have gone to Taiwan for decades and will continue to do so," saying it was in line with U.S. policy to only maintain formal diplomatic ties with Beijing. “We’re going to continue to take calm and resolute steps to uphold peace and stability in the region and to support Taiwan in line with our longstanding policy," Patel said at a briefing Thursday Read: Indiana governor in Taiwan following high-profile US visits Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told reporters Friday that “China’s motivation is to destroy the Taiwan Straits' status quo, and after this they want to cut down on Taiwan’s defensive space." Taiwan is seeking stepped-up defense cooperation and additional weaponry from the U.S., along with closer economic ties. In their meeting, Tsai and Blackburn underscored the importance of economic links, especially in the semiconductor sector, where Taiwan is a world leader and the U.S. is seeking greater investment at home. Blackburn arrived in Taipei late Thursday after visiting Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea as part of a U.S. push to “expand our diplomatic footprint in the area,” her office said in a statement. “The Indo-Pacific region is the next frontier for the new axis of evil,” Blackburn, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, was quoted as saying. “We must stand against the Chinese Communist Party.” China has been making inroads in the western Pacific, signing a broad security agreement with the Solomons that the U.S. and allies such as Australia see as an attempt to overthrow the traditional security order in the region. Pelosi was the highest-level member of the U.S. government to visit Taiwan in 25 years. China’s response was to announce six zones surrounding the island for military exercises that included firing missiles over the island, some of which landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Following Pelosi’s trip, a delegation of House and Senate members visited. This week, Indiana’s governor made a visit focused on business and academic cooperation. U.S politicians have called their visits a show of support for the island. “I just landed in Taiwan to send a message to Beijing — we will not be bullied,” said Blackburn in a tweet early morning Friday. “The United States remains steadfast in preserving freedom around the globe, and will not tolerate efforts to undermine our nation and our allies.” During her three-day visit, Blackburn is also due to meet with the head of Taiwan’s National Security Council. Washington has no official diplomatic ties with Taipei in deference to China, but remains the island’s biggest security guarantor, with U.S. law requiring it ensure Taiwan has the means to defend itself and to regard threats to the island as matters of “grave concern.” Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war and have no official relations but are bound by billions of dollars of trade and investment. China has increased its pressure on Taiwan since it elected independence-leaning Tsai as its president. When Tsai refused to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation, China cut off contact with the Taiwanese government. U.S. congressional visits to the island have stepped up in frequency in the past year. On Thursday, the executive branch of Taiwan’s government laid out plans for a 12.9% increase in the Defense Ministry’s annual budget next year. The government is planning to spend an additional 47.5 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.6 billion), for a total of 415.1 billion NTD ($13.8 billion) for the year. The Defense Ministry said the increase is due to the “Chinese Communists’ continued expansion of targeted military activities in recent years, the normalization of their harassment of Taiwan’s nearby waters and airspace with warships and war planes.” Also Thursday, the Defense Ministry said it tracked four Chinese naval ships and 15 warplanes in the region surrounding the island.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked Friday for international help battling deadly flood damage in the impoverished Islamic nation. His request on Twitter came amid exceptionally heavy rain that continued lashing Pakistan, raising the overall death toll from mid-June to 937. Sharif said he met with foreign diplomats in the capital, Islamabad, on damages caused by the floods. “The ongoing rain spell has caused devastation across the country," he tweeted, thanking other countries and groups for their support. “Together we will build back better.” The flooding from rains, melting glaciers and cloudbursts affected over 3 million people. Read: 31 dead in India flash floods & landslides Floods have damaged 170,000 homes, washed away roads and destroyed nearly 150 bridges, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Although floodwater receded in some areas, the situation worsened in Sindh province, where rescue workers were using boats to evacuate marooned people. Thousands of flood-affected people were living in makeshift homes and tents. The crisis forced Sharif's government to declare a state of emergency. A United Nations statement on Thursday said it has allocated $ 3 million for U.N. aid agencies and its partners in Pakistan to respond to the floods. “This will be used for health, nutrition, food security, and water and sanitation services in flood-affected areas, focusing on the most vulnerable," it said. Monsoon rains in Pakistan typically begin in July. But this year, heavy downpours started lashing the country in June, triggering floods. Scientists say climate change is a major factor behind the unusually severe weather, which has made life miserable for millions of people. According to Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman, right now the real challenge was saving lives and arranging tents and food for homeless people. “This is a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions, thousands are without shelter, many are without food and people are stranded," Rehman said. "We need to ask not just the provinces and Islamabad, it is beyond the capacity of any one administration or government to rehabilitate and even manage the rescue and relief.”

In a big jolt to India's main opposition Congress party, veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the grand old political outfit on Friday. In his five-page resignation letter addressed to interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Azad made a scathing attack on her son -- Rahul -- for his "childish behaviour", "glaring immaturity" and for running the party via a "coterie of inexperienced sycophants". Also read: Mamata re-elected Trinamool Congress chief Blaming Rahul for the Congress' defeat in the 2014 general election, the 73-year-old claimed that"the party has now reached a point of no return". The former federal Minister also came down heavily on a "remote control model" in which important decisions in the party are taken by "Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and personal assistants". Azad's abrupt exit comes at a time when the Congress is gearing up for the party's presidential poll and facing an existential crisis in the wake of the departure of several leaders in the past three years. Also read: Indian oppn leader Rahul Gandhi released from detention Azad served as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government until 27 October 2005, when he was appointed as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in the field of public affairs.

Japan's national police chief said Thursday he will resign to take responsibility over shortfalls in security that an investigation by his own agency showed did not adequately safeguard former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from a fatal shooting of at a campaign speech last month. National Police Agency Chief Itaru Nakamura's announcement came as his agency released a report blaming flaws in police protection — from planning to guarding at the scene — that led to Abe’s assassination July 8 in Nara in western Japan. Nakamura said he took the former prime minister's death seriously and that he submitted his resignation to the National Public Safety Commission earlier Thursday. “In order to fundamentally reexamine guarding and never to let this happen, we need to have a new system,” Nakamura told a news conference as he announced his intention to step down. Nakamura did not say when his resignation would be official. Japanese media reported that his resignation is expected to be approved at Friday's Cabinet meeting. Also read: Japanese say final goodbye to former leader Abe at funeral The alleged gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested at the scene and is currently under mental evaluation until late November. Yamagami told police that he targeted Abe because of the former leader's link to the Unification Church, which he hated. Abe sent a video message last year to a group affiliated with the church, which experts say may have infuriated the shooting suspect. In a 54-page investigative report released Thursday, the National Police Agency concluded that the protection plan for Abe neglected potential danger coming from behind him and merely focused on risks during his movement from the site of his speech to his vehicle. Inadequacies in the command system, communication among several key police officials, as well as their attention in areas behind Abe at the campaign site led to their lack of attention on the suspect's movement until it was too late. Also read: Japan's ex-leader Shinzo Abe assassinated during a speech None of the officers assigned to immediate protection of Abe caught the suspect until he was already 7 meters (yards) behind him where he took out his homemade double-barrel gun, which resembled a camera with a long lens, to blast his first shot that narrowly missed Abe. Up to that moment, none of the officers was aware of the suspect's presence, or recognized the blast as a gun shot, the report said. In just over two seconds, the suspect was only 5.3 meters (yards) behind Abe to fatally fire the second shot. The report called for significant strengthening in both training and staffing of Japan’s dignitary protection, as well as revising police protection guidelines for the first time in about 30 years. It said the prefectural police's Abe protection plan lacked a thorough safety evaluation and largely copied an earlier visit by another top party lawmaker. The national police called for doubling dignitary protection staff in Tokyo, a greater supervisory role for the national police over prefectural staff, and use of digital technology and drones to bolster surveillance from above ground. The police agency also proposed bullet-proof shields that are not yet used in Japan, a country known for strict gun control. Abe’s family paid tribute to him in a private Buddhist ritual Thursday marking the 49th day since his assassination. His younger brother and former Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, and other senior party officials and ministers reportedly attended. About 1,000 people, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, attended an earlier private funeral at a Tokyo temple days after his death. Kishida's government plans to hold a state funeral Sept. 27, a plan that has split public opinion amid growing criticisms over the governing party members' cozy ties with the controversial Korean church. Kishida's Cabinet is reportedly announcing a 250 million yen ($1.8 million) budget to invite 6,400 guests from in and outside Japan for the upcoming funeral. The Unification Church, which was founded in South Korea in 1954 and came to Japan a decade later, has built close ties with a host of conservative lawmakers, many of them members of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party on their shared interests of anti-communism.   Since the 1980s, the church has faced accusations of problematic recruiting and religious sales in Japan, and the governing party’s church ties have sent support ratings of Kishida’s Cabinet into a nosedive even after its recent shuffle. In Nara on Thursday, prefectural police chief Tomoaki Onizuka also expressed his intention to step down over Abe's assassination. “I have been almost crushed by the seriousness of my responsibility" in the former leader's death, teary Onizuka said. “We will grit our teeth and endeavor in order to regain the public trust and be helpful to the people in the prefecture and across Japan."

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has raised “grave concerns” over the continued detention and deportations of Afghan refugees in Tajikistan, warning once again that forcing people fleeing persecution back to their country against their will is illegal and puts lives at risk. In a latest incident, some five Afghans, including a family comprising of three children and their mother, were returned to Afghanistan on Tuesday (August 23) through the Panji Poyon border checkpoint in north-eastern Tajikistan despite UNHCR’s interventions to halt the deportations, said the UN agency on Thursday.  "Tajikistan must stop detaining and deporting refugees, an action that clearly puts lives at risk," said Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection. "Forced return of refugees is against the law and runs contrary to the principle of non-refoulement, a cornerstone of international refugee law." Read: UNHCR seeks more support from international community for Rohingyas  Since 2021, UNHCR has recorded multiple incidents of refugee detentions, forced returns and non-admission to territory for individuals in need of international protection. A UNHCR global non-return advisory for Afghanistan issued in August 2021 and renewed in February 2022, calls for a bar on forced returns of all Afghan nationals. Afghans seeking safety must have access to protection and a fair and efficient asylum process in Tajikistan. Forced returns will place asylum-seekers at risk of persecution upon return and accordingly, constitute a serious breach of international law. "We have continuously urged the authorities in Tajikistan to allow access to territory for those fleeing conflict and persecution in Afghanistan and halt any further deportations," UNHCR's Elizabeth Tan added. UNHCR remains concerned about the risk of human rights violations against civilians in Afghanistan, including in respect of women and girls.