标签： Asia

Sri Lanka commemorated its 78th Independence Day with a dual focus on national recovery and international diplomacy, as articulated by top diplomatic representatives in the United Arab Emirates. Ambassador Dr. Arusha Cooray and Consul General Alexi Gunasekera delivered substantive messages highlighting the nation’s transformative journey toward economic stability and reinforced bilateral ties.

The anniversary carries profound significance as Sri Lanka navigates a critical phase of economic reconstruction and national renewal. Diplomatic communications emphasized the country’s commitment to sustainable development frameworks, comprehensive economic reforms, and creating environments conducive to innovation and foreign investment. The resilience demonstrated by Sri Lankan citizens during recent challenges was recognized as fundamental to the nation’s progressive trajectory.

A central theme emerged regarding the strategic partnership with the UAE, characterized as a relationship built upon mutual respect and decades of multilateral cooperation. The UAE’s provision of humanitarian assistance during recent natural disasters, including flood relief operations and cyclone response initiatives, was specifically acknowledged as demonstrating the depth of bilateral solidarity.

Current bilateral cooperation spans multiple high-potential sectors including renewable energy infrastructure, tourism development, logistics modernization, technological innovation, and food security systems. The substantial contributions of the Sri Lankan expatriate community in the UAE were highlighted as vital to both nations’ economic ecosystems.

Diplomatic messages conveyed optimistic projections for future collaboration, envisioning enhanced economic partnerships that mutually benefit both nations’ development objectives. The communications concluded with national greetings to Sri Lankan communities worldwide and reaffirmations of commitment to building a prosperous, unified future through international cooperation and domestic resilience.

A clandestine recording from February 2015 has surfaced featuring former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak discussing demographic engineering strategies with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The explosive audio reveals Barak’s account of lobbying Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate the emigration of “one more million Russians” to Israel, explicitly stating this migration would “change Israel in a dramatic, dramatic manner” by diluting the Palestinian demographic presence.

Barak, whose own family origins trace to Eastern European Jewish settlers, elaborated on his vision for selective migration policies, emphasizing the need to “control the quality” of future Russian settlers. His comments reveal deep-seated ethnic hierarchies within Israeli society, particularly regarding the approximately one million Soviet immigrants who arrived in the 1990s—less than half of whom were recognized as Jewish under orthodox law by 2005.

The recording captures Barak outlining plans to challenge orthodox religious authority, proposing to “break the monopoly of the orthodox rabbinate on marriage and funerals and whatever, and the definition of a Jew” through sophisticated conversion processes. He suggested that many Russians could settle without conversion as a precondition, anticipating that “social pressure” would eventually lead to their adaptation.

Barak’s remarks expose historical tensions between Ashkenazi leadership and Jews from Arab and Muslim countries, whom he described as having been accepted out of necessity during Israel’s founding era. He explicitly ranked minority groups deserving of equality, prioritizing Druze communities (approximately 1% of the population) for their military service, followed by Christian minorities (approximately 2%) for their educational achievements.

The recording further reveals Barak’s concerning association with Epstein, including over 30 visits to Epstein’s New York townhouse between 2013-2017. An FBI memo separately noted that Epstein “trained as a spy under him,” adding another layer to their decade-long relationship. The context of their discussion—with Epstein heard chuckling as Barak mentioned “young girls who can’t talk”—takes on disturbing significance given Epstein’s trafficking of Russian women to powerful figures.

In a striking condemnation from within Israel’s political establishment, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has issued a severe critique of his nation’s current trajectory. The ex-military chief, who once infamously characterized Palestinians as a ‘cancer-like threat,’ now accuses the Israeli government of embracing an ideology bearing disturbing resemblance to Nazi racial theory.

Ya’alon’s explosive statements emerged in response to recent settler violence near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, where what he termed ‘Jewish pogromists’ attacked Palestinians, stole livestock, and destroyed property. The former minister detailed how ‘Jewish terrorists’ obstructed emergency medical services from reaching wounded Palestinians during the assault.

The veteran security official placed direct blame on specific government figures, alleging that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir—a convicted criminal and adherent of the extremist Kahanist movement—exercises control over police inaction. Furthermore, Ya’alon asserted that Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, now operates under the leadership of David Zini, whom he identified as a representative of ‘Jewish supremacy.’ Zini, a religious Zionist and former major general, has previously described Palestinians as a ‘divine existential threat.’

Ya’alon specifically criticized Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for refusing to employ administrative detention against Jewish extremists and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for allegedly encouraging illegal outposts and providing resources to make Palestinian lives ‘unbearable’—actions Ya’alon characterized as intended to dispossess Palestinians of their land.

The former defense minister, who participated in multiple military campaigns including the 2014 Gaza war, warned that the prevailing ideology of ‘Jewish supremacy’ threatens Israel’s very existence. He demanded the replacement of what he called ‘the government of lies and betrayal, the government of messianists, draft dodgers and the corrupt’ before it brings ruin upon the state.

This criticism emerges against the backdrop of devastating violence in the region, with over 71,800 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 2023 and nearly 90% of the territory’s infrastructure destroyed. In the West Bank, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers during the same period.