Evening NEWS DIGEST
23 Oct. 2016: 21 Muharram 1438: Vol: 8, No:18
INDIA
Simultaneous polls likely in UP, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand & Manipur in Feb- March: PTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Simultaneous-polls-in-Uttar-Pradesh-4-other-states-in-February-March/articleshow/55012468.cms
New Delhi: UP, which is set to witness game-changer elections, and four other states will go to polls simultaneously, most likely in Feb-March next, commencing shortly after the presentation of the Union Budget on Feb.1.While it will be a single-day polling in Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur, UP is likely to have as many as 7 phases, sources in the Election Commission said.As a matter of abundant precaution, the government approached the Commission for clearing its proposal to present the Union Budget in Lok Sabha on Feb.1 and avoid criticism of violating the model code of conduct that will come into force the day elections are announced.Sources said that Commission had no objection to the budget exercise being carried on because of the fact that it would cover the entire country and was not specific to the poll-bound states.It has also been conveyed to the government that caution should be exercised so that overtly populist measures are not included in the budget aimed at voters in these states. The Commission is working on a schedule for the polls which should be completed by the middle of March so that new assemblies in these states could be constituted well in time before the expiry of their tenure. While the term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 27, 2017, those of Goa, Manipur and Punjab end on March 18.Uttarakhand Assembly's term ends on March 27.
Samajwadi Party row LIVE: Mulayam’s party on brink of split as CM sacks Shivpal; Ramgopal expelled
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/samajwadi-party-uttar-pradesh-live-updates-akhilesh-yadav-shivpal-yadav-mulayam-singh-yadav-amar-singh-breaking-news-up-assembly-elections-2017-3098279/
New Delhi: The turf war in Samajwadi Party took a new turn on Sunday after UP CM Akhilesh Yadav sacked his uncle and senior party leader Shivpal Yadav from the cabinet along with three others. The news came after Akhilesh called a meeting of legislators at party office in Lucknow at 11:00 am this morning.Mainpuri MLA Raju Yadav spoke after attending the meeting saying:“CM said that whoever is close to Amar Singh cannot be a part of my cabinet.” News agency ANI reported that Shivpal Yadav reached party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s residence immediately after the news surfaced. Rift in Samajwadi Party had become apparent after party’s mining minister Gayatri Prajapati was sacked by Akhilesh following which Mualayam Singh Yadav stripped him of the status of party chief and appointed Shivpal Yadav to the position.2 weeks after Prajapati’s expulsion, he was re inducted in the cabinet. Amar Singh – who shares a close relationship with Mulayam Singh Yadav – recently made a comeback to the party after 6 years and was given a Rajya Sabha seat. indianexpress
Akhilesh sacks Shivpal and other ministers
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/uttar-pradesh-politics-samajwadi-party-internal-imbroglio-akhilesh-strikes-sacks-shivpal-and-other-ministers/article9258290.ece?homepage=true
Sacked UP Minister Shivpal Yadav Says Cousin Ram Gopal Expelled From Party
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/conspiracy-to-weaken-party-says-sacked-up-minister-shivpal-yadav-1477956
Ram Gopal Yadav plotting against SP: Shivpal
http://www.abplive.in/india-news/some-senior-leaders-of-sp-have-connived-with-the-bjp-under-cbi-pressure-to-destabilize-the-party-shivpal-yadav-435520
Azam Khan blames 'one single outsider' for SP feud
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/231016/azam-khan-blames-one-single-outsider-for-samajwadi-party-feud.html
My removal from govt an attempt to weaken SP leadership; Shivpal Yadav
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/my-removal-from-govt-an-attempt-to-weaken-samajwadi-party-leadership-says-shivpal-yadav-3098630/
SP crisis: Mulayam Singh Yadav sacks pro-Akhilesh Ram Gopal Yadav for 'colluding with the BJP'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SP-crisis-Mulayam-Singh-Yadav-sacks-pro-Akhilesh-leader-Ram-Gopal-Yadav-for-colluding-with-the-BJP/articleshow/55013694.cms
Split wide open! Akhilesh could launch a new party to take on Mulayam:PTI
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/55015171.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
War at point-of-no-return? If SP falls, Akhilesh will have to overcome Mulayam & Shivpal: Firstpost
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/war-at-point-of-no-return-if-samajwadi-party-falls-akhilesh-will-have-to-overcome-mulayam-and-shivpal-3067824.html
PERSONAL LAW & uniform civil code
Muslim women go door-to-door to collect signatures against Uniform Civil Code
http://twocircles.net/2016oct23/1477164183.html#.WAyRZFR97IW
Mumbai: A signature campaign by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) against the Uniform Civil Code is finding good response from Muslim women who have themselves taken it as a responsibility of collecting signature from fellow women and thereby displaying strong opposition for any changes in Muslim Personal laws. AIMPB, apex body of Indian Muslims comprising organisations representing all schools of Islamic thought, has taken up the signature campaign while boycotting the questionnaire sent by the Law Commission. It has prepared a form that states Muslim women are satisfied with existing personal laws and do not want Uniform civil code, and is signed by Muslim women.form provides AIMPLB’s address in the end and ask for posting the filled form there or to send scanned copy of the filled form to its email address. AIMPLB proposes to submit these filled-in forms to the President and the Law Commission. Each form can be signed by women along with their names and addresses. Form was distributed after Friday prayer at different mosques and Muslim women have decided to get it filled by local residents in the respective towns and cities, who are otherwise not worried or not aware of the happenings.The form reads, “We the undersigned, Muslim women do hereby declare that we are fully satisfied with all the rulings of Islam Shariah, particularly Nikah, inheritance, divorce, khula and Faskh (dissolution of marriage). We deny that these need any reform or there is any scope for change therein. We fully support All India Muslim Personal Law Board and firmly stand with it in its endeavours to safeguard shariah law. We wish to make it absolutely clear that shariah law does not need any change, rather what really required is eradication of social evils, cultivation of good habits and overcoming weaknesses and honestly following the shariah.”TCN
Uniform Civil Code not applicable as Nagaland part of India with spl provision under: Nagaland Cong
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2016/10/23/nagaland-cong-resolves-not-to-apply-uniform-civil-code/#yOw3IlGeUz2Y1fLv.99
Kohima: Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was not applicable and acceptable in Nagaland.NPCC Working President, P Ayang Aonok, the Executive Committee of NPCC has resolved that UCC was not applicable and acceptable in Nagaland.“This was resolved in a meeting on Friday to examine and deliberate on questionnaires put forward by Justice BS Chauhan, Chairman Law Commission of India to all concerned to engage with them on the comprehensive exercise of the revision and reform of the family laws, as Article 44 of the Indian Constitution provides that ‘the state shall endeavour to provide for its citizen Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India’.NPCC meeting resolved that Nagaland was “part of the Union of India with special provision under Article 371A of the Indian Constitution, which quotes that “notwithstanding anything in the Constitution. No Act of Parliament in respect of (i) Religious or social practices of the Nagas; (ii) Naga customary law and procedure; (iii) administration of civil and criminal justice involving decision according to Naga customary law and procedures; and (iv) ownership and transfer of land and its resources shall apply to the State of Nagaland unless Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so decides, the press release said. UNI
Triple talaq must be abolished to protect rights of Muslim women: BJP backs Naidu
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/triple-talaq-must-be-abolished-to-protect-rights-of-muslim-women-bjp-3098320/
New Delhi: BJP on Sunday backed Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu’s assertion that triple talaq was “anti-constitutional and anti-civilisation” and said that this system must be abolished to protect the rights of Muslim women.“What Naidu ji has said is absolutely correct; we are all sworn to the Constitution of India. Constitution of India says that there should be gender quality and triple talaq doesn’t give gender equality,” BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh said“It differentiates between Indian women on the basis of religion. Therefore, to protect the rights of Muslim women triple talaq must be abolished,” he added.ANI
Those who pronounce oral triple talaq in one sitting should be penalised by society:Khalid Saifullah
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Oral-triple-talaq-at-one-sitting-is-not-acceptable/articleshow/55007516.cms
Hyderabad:Secretary of AIMPLB, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, on Saturday said that those who pronounce oral triple talaq in one sitting should be penalised by society.Eminent scholar of Islam was addressing a gathering of women from all walks of life at 'Muslim Personal Law and Current Issues' seminar organised by Tafheem-e-Shariat Committee, an AIMPLB affiliate, at Madina Education Centre in Nampally. While Maulana Rahmani continued to maintain that oral triple talaq is considered valid by all schools of thought, except Salafis and the Shiites, he said, "Society should punish the men who pronounce oral triple talaq in one sitting. Perhaps they should be made to pay a hefty fine to women they have divorced so that they are able to remarry."He buttressed his point by stating that Hazrat Omar ibn al Khattab, 2nd Caliph of Islam, considered oral triple talaq as valid, but as punishment, administered lashes to the man who pronounced it.The scholar, who is also the general secretary of Fiqh Academy, said that Sharia considers the pronouncement of triple talaq in one sitting as "sin"."It would be better that men stop this. Oral triple talaq is greatly disliked. There is consensus among Islamic jurists on this aspect ," he said.TOI
DMK condemns move on civil code
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/dmk-condemns-move-on-civil-code/article9257314.ece?ref=tpnews
DMK treasurer and Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin has condemned the Centre’s efforts to implement a uniform civil code.In a statement on Saturday, he said that DMK would never support a uniform civil code. “Centre is trying to divert the people’s attention from the fundamental problems,” said Stalin. the hindu
First give justice to Zakia Jaffrey, Ishrat Jahan then bat for women's rights: Owaisi
http://ummid.com/news/2016/October/23.10.2016/asaduddin-owaisi-mumbra-rally-oct-22.html
Mumbai: Slamming PM Narendra Modi over Uniform Civil Code and alleging that his cries for rights of Muslim women are hollow, AIMIM Chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday sought justice for Gujarat riot victim Zakia Jaffrey and Ishrat Jahan, the college girl who died in cold-blooded murder by police."First give justice to Zakia Jaffery and Ishrat Jahan then bat for rights of Muslim women", Owaisi said while addressing a huge rally in Mumbra near Mumbai Saturday evening.He said hundreds of thousands of women gathered are demanding justice for 2 who have become the "symbols of worst kind of victimization" in the country.ummid.com
Clerics against move to change Muslim personal law
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/clerics-against-move-to-change-muslim-personal-law/article9257526.ece?ref=tpnews
Nizamabad: Rally held to oppose amendment to Muslim personal law
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/rally-held-to-oppose-amendment-to-muslim-personal-law/article9258016.ece
Talaq row: Muslim organisations step up protest against Centre
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20161022/2975043.html
Hyderabad: Muslim leaders join hands against UCC
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2016/oct/23/muslim-leaders-join-hands-to-oppose-ucc-1530950.html
Hyderabad: Parties to back Muslims’ fight against Uniform Civil Code
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/231016/hyderabad-parties-to-back-muslims-fight-against-uniform-civil-code.html
TRS MLC urges KCR to stall Centre's move on triple
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/TRS-MLC-urges-KCR-to-stall-Centres-move-on-triple-talaq/articleshow/55007821.cms
Mangaluru: Muslim committee to start campaign
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/Muslim-committee-to-start-campaign/articleshow/55007051.cms
OTHERS
Won't oppose beef-eating in Kerala: BJP Kerala chief
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49473840.cms?from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Nnew Delhi: Kerala BJP state unit president V Muraleedharan has said his party has no plans to protest against beef-eating in Kerala. Maintaining that food and dress of people vary from state to state depending on climatic and cultural conditions, he asserted that his party's constitution does not have any provision to regulate the eating and dressing habits of people. "BJP does not interfere with what kind of food people should eat and what dresses they wear. Our party constitution does not speak about regulating the food habit of the people or about imposing any dress code," Muraleedharan said. When asked if BJP will object to beef-eating in Kerala, he said, "in India, food and dressing habits vary from state to state, depending on respective climatic/geographical conditions and cultural and traditional backgrounds. In Kerala, people are predominately non-vegetarian and in some others states such as Gujarat people are mostly vegetarian. As I said earlier, BJP has no intentions to regulate the food habit of people, and therefore, we have no intention to protest against people eating beef in Kerala". He elaborated: "Again, people in Kerala wear 'mundu' and shirt while in some states people wear kurta and pyjama. BJP does not demand any common dress code either." ET
Gujarat govt signs MoUs worth $5 billion with China firms
http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/gujarat-govt-signs-mous-worth-5-billion-with-china-firms-3096071/
Ahmedabad; Even as voices of boycott of Chinese goods get louder in the country, a Gujarat government delegation that visited China to promote Vibrant Gujarat summit 2017, signed $5 billion worth agreements with Chinese companies. The delegation that concluded its four-day visit Friday, visited Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen cities under the leadership of Sanjay Prasad, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Cooperation Dept.of the state govt.The delegation held meetings with government officials, top officials of industry bodies and trade associations in China.During these meetings, govt of Gujarat signed key MoUs and investment proposals with Liaoning Province of the People’s Republic of China, Dynagreen Environmental Protection Group Co. Ltd, JCHK Holding Co. Ltd., Chengdu Xingrong Group, Pacific Construction Group, ZT Esoft Technology Co. Ltd and Sinoma Taishan Fibreglass Inc. indianexpress
With BJP in power, RSS has taken centre stage in Indian polity: Raja
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/with-bjp-in-power-rss-has-taken-centre-stage-says-raja/article9256052.ece
Kalaburagi: Objecting to increased intervention of right-wing forces in Union govt’s functioning and policy making, D. Raja, general secretary of CPI and Rajya Sabha member, said that RSS had taken centre stage in Indian polity after BJP assumed power at the Centre. He was speaking at his party’s State Council meeting in Kalaburagi on Saturday.“Being cultural organisation, RSS is playing a political game in the national politics. It is dictating BJP-led Union government on policy matters. Bending to RSS pressure, the government is taking unilateral decisions side lining democratically elected parliament. Indian democracy is in peril,” the communist leader said. Terming RSS ideology as sectarian, communal and fascist, Raja said the right-wing forces were making serious attempts to polarise society along religious lines and trigger communal tensions just to turn majority population into a vote-bank for their political outfit, BJP.“RSS and its right-wing forces are eyeing the assembly polls in UP. They are attempting to divide people along communal lines and trigger clashes among them so that they could create a majority vote bank for their political arm, the BJP,” he said. the hindu
Shameful sexual abuse of the old in Kerala families, report reveals shocking details
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/shameful-sexual-abuse-old-kerala-families-report-reveals-shocking-details-51766
The shocking report on sexual abuse of elderly women presented by Kozhikode South MLA MK Muneer on Wednesday in the Kerala Assembly is the result of a painstakingly prepared report by a handful of human right activists, after a secret investigation that lasted 5 years. The said report -a copy of which has been obtained by the News Minute- also sheds light on specific cases of elderly women, some more than 75 years old- being sexually abused by relatives as well as strangers in various districts of Kerala.“An 85-year old woman was sexually abused by her son-in-law in Murikkumpuzha village. Nobody at home was ready to believe her, as the accused was deemed a gentleman in society. This woman later lost her mental stability,” the report reads.According to the report, such incidents of sexual abuse within the family rarely make it to the news. Talking about another incident in Chirayankeezhu, the report says that most victims do not speak out for fear of spoiling the reputation of their children and grandchildren.“An 87-year old woman was continuously abused by her 19-year old grandson, leaving her depressed and mentally unstable. We found her wandering along corridors of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. We found bite wounds on her body. Later it was found that her grandson used to sexually abuse her on a regular basis,” the report reveals.The report also mentions in detail about seven other old women whom they rescued from the streets and who were sexually abused by strangers.“Saina* (80) who was abandoned by her children on streets of Veli was raped by a young man one night.”All the accused in these cases appeared ‘normal’, and were neither alcoholics nor substance-abusers, report says.The News Minute
Better medical facilities for armed forces could have saved my son:BSF jawan Gurman Singh’s father
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/bsf-jawan-gurman-singh-father-says-better-medical-facilities-for-armed-forces-could-have-saved-him-3098117/
New Delhi: Aggrieved parents of the dead BSF jawan, Gurman Singh, on Saturday demanded better medical facilities for security forces. Speaking to news agency ANI, Gurman’s father Kulbir Singh said, “There is only one government hospital here in Bakshinagar. That is why we demand that there should be separate health care system for BSF soldiers. Had it been installed he could have been given proper treatment.”26-year-old jawan, who was critically injured by Pakistani forces at border area in Kathua district of J&K, was being treated at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu, where he died on Saturday night at around 11:30pm. indian express
Security forces burnt 160 homes in Chhattisgarh village in March 2011: CBI
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/security-forces-burnt-160-homes-in-chhattisgarh-village-tadmetla-says-cbi-march-2011-3096011/
New Delhi: Contradicting the state police which claimed that Naxalites had set 160 houses on fire in Tadmetla village in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, CBI has held security forces responsible for tragedy in March 2011. Presenting a status report on its investigation, CBI informed a bench led by Justice Madan B Lokur that “160 houses in village Tadmetla were completely burnt during police operation.” 7 special police officers (SPOs) have been chargesheeted in the case and the CBI says it has evidence of “involvement of 323 SPOs/policemen” and 95 CRPF/COBRA personnel. Indian express
Shocking levels of pollution in India, China: Astronaut Kelly
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/shocking-level-of-pollution-in-india-china-says-astronaut-kelly/article9255093.ece
Washington: Astronaut Scott Kelly, who has the distinction of having spent a year in the space, has said that the level of pollution in China and India is shocking.“Seeing places like China and India, and the pollution that exists there almost all the time is quite shocking,” Mr. Kelly said in a brief media appearance with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday.“There was one day last summer, the summer of 2015, when I was in space I saw the eastern side of China was perfectly clear. And I’d never seen that before in all of my time in space, and I’d spent well over a year in space, total, at that point,” he said.“I could see all these cities that are — there’s like over 200 cities in that part of China, with over a million people. And it was at dusk, and I could just, for the very first time, I was able to see them, and it was quite shocking,” he added. the hindu
Syed Ali Shah Geelani hails 100 days of Kashmir Valley unrest as ‘historic victory’
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/syed-ali-shah-geelani-hails-100-days-of-kashmir-valley-unrest-as-historic-victory-3097893/
Srinagar: Terming the 100 days of protest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahidden militant Burhan Wani as a “historic victory”, Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani Saturday said the “uprising has exposed and isolated” the ruling PDP.Geelani was scheduled to “address the nation” Saturday, but security personnel cordoned off his residence. The communication lines to Geelani’s house were also snapped.His statement, mailed to media later, said: “These 3 months have been the reiteration of… the simple truth that freedom is the right of every human being and it is a right we are destined to achieve.” indianexpress
Education ‘blossomed’, not affected in Kashmir: Geelani
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/education-blossomed-not-affected-in-kashmir-syed-ali-shah-geelani-3097340/
‘A Kashmiri cannot move freely anyway’
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/kashmir-unrest-india-pakistan-kashmiri-students-swami-vivekanand-subharti-university-baramulla-3097497/
Kashmir unrest: National Conference terms firing of govt employees as ‘vindictive’
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kashmir-unrest-national-conference-terms-firing-of-govt-employees-as-vindictive/story-hYaOo12Un4zHl5nJxzIHZK.html
World
Battle for Mosul: Peshmerga seizes Bashiqa from ISIL
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/battle-mosul-peshmerga-seizes-bashiqa-isil-161023103005292.html
Kurdish Peshmerga have taken the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from ISIL as coalition forces pressed their offensive against the armed group's last urban stronghold in Iraq.A US official said Masoud Barzani, President of Iraqi Kurdish Region, had informed US Defense Secretary Ash Carter that the Kurds had succeeded in recapturing Bashiqa from ISIL.Kurdish fighters told reporters at the scene they had entered Bashiqa, but journalists were not being allowed into the town.The successful advance took place as US Defense Secretary Ash Carter was in Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan to support the unprecedented offensive, which a US-led coalition is backing with air and ground support.US leads a 60-nation coalition - which also includes Britain and France - that has provided support in the form of thousands of air strikes, training for Iraqi forces and advisers on the ground.Elite federal forces are also fighting to retake control of he mainly Christian district of Hamdiniya which lies to the South East of Mosul."Iraqi troops are now in Hamandiya, fighting their way towards the city center," Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from the outskirts of Hamdiniya, said."But it is proving to be a very difficult fight because ISIL still have snipers in the area.And they are still using suicide car bombs."Operation to recapture Mosul started last Monday, and ISIL hit back on Friday with a surprise assault on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk and two days later security forces were still tracking down fighters involved in the attack.At least 51 ISIL fighters had been killed, including three more on Sunday, local security officials said.Sporadic clashes continued, a senior security official said, with forces besieging ISIL gunmen in Kirkuk's Nidaa neighbourhood.At least 46 people, most of them members of the security forces, were killed in the raid and ensuing clashes.ISIL fighters also attacked Rutba, a remote town near the Jordanian border in the western province of Anbar, with five suicide car bombs, the area's top army commander said on Sunday."I think ISIL was trying to give a message with these attacks," said Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Erbil."They are trying to say even though they are being pushed in Mosul, they still have the capasity to carry out these kinds of attacks elsewhere."And they are trying to split the Iraqi forces, so they can weaken the operation in Mosul." Al Jazeera
Iraq says senior IS leader killed in Mosul airstrike
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iraq-says-senior-daesh-leader-killed-in-mosul-airstrike/670632
Air strikes, fighting mark end of Aleppo ceasefire
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/air-strikes-fighting-mark-aleppo-ceasefire-161022203809648.html
Heavy clashes erupted between regime and rebel forces in Syria's divided city of Aleppo after a unilateral ceasefire announced by Russia expired, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.First Syrian or Russian air strikes on Aleppo, Syria's most populous city before the civil war, since Russia began the pause in hostilities on Thursday hit a key frontline in the city's southwest.Ground clashes and shelling, which had continued throughout the day on frontlines, intensified. The pause began on Thursday, and came after Russia announced a temporary halt to Syrian army's campaign to recapture the divided city.No civilians were evacuated during the truce, Ingy Sedky, spokeswoman for International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria, said, adding that evacuations were impossible due to the poor security situation in the city. aljazeera
Turkey attacks US-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/turkey-attacks-backed-kurdish-fighters-syria-161022184745848.html
UN rights chief denounces Aleppo raids as 'war crimes'
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/rights-chief-denounces-aleppo-raids-war-crimes-161021091847078.html
The siege and bombing of eastern Aleppo in Syria constitute "crimes of historic proportions" that have caused heavy civilian casualties amounting to "war crimes", according to the top United Nations human rights official.Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein's comments on Friday came during a special session of the UN human rights council called by Britain to set up a special inquiry into violations, especially in Aleppo's rebel-held east where an estimated 275,000 civilians are besieged by a Syrian government offensive backed by Russia. In a video speech, Zeid said Aleppo is a "slaughterhouse" and called for major powers to put aside their differences and refer the situation in Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Aljazeera
Kremlin to 'liberate' Syria under Assad
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/179012/blood-brothers-kremlin-to-liberate-syria-under-assad
The Kremlin on Saturday said its military intervention in Syria aims to liberate the war-torn nation's territory from rebels while keeping President Bashar al-Assad in power.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview with Rossiya-1 national television set to air on Saturday evening said there were only two possible outcomes for the Syrian conflict -- either Assad remains in power or rebels take over."Either Assad is in Damascus, or Al-Nusra is," he said, referring to former Al-Qaeda affiliate, the Fateh al-Sham Front. "There is no third option here."World Bulletin
Erdogan repeats call for 'terror-free zone' in Syria
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/179019/erdogan-repeats-call-for-terror-free-zone-in-syria
Afghanistan: 43% rise in estimated opium harvest
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/afghanistan-43-percent-rise-estimated-opium-harvest-161023074029664.html
Estimated opium production in Afghanistan has risen by 43 percent to 4,800 metric tonnes in 2016 compared with 2015 levels, according to the latest Afghanistan Opium Survey figures released by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and the UNO on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).The survey, released on Sunday, showed that the total area under cultivation in Afghanistan at an estimated 201,000 hectares in 2016, a 10%increase from the 183,000 hectares in 2015. Report also showed a 91 percent decrease in eradication this year.No eradication has taken place in provinces with high levels of opium poppy cultivation due to the extremely poor security situation in those areas, as well as logistical and financial challenges, report said. aljazeera
Burmese govt blocking aid in Rakhine state:HRW
https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/10/burmese-government-blocking-aid-rakhine-state-says-hrw/
HUMAN Rights Watch has urged the Burmese (Myanmar) government to lift its blockade on humanitarian aid for ethnic Rohingyans in the northern Rakhine State.The rights group on Friday said government security operations have cut off assistance to tens of thousands of people and forced many to flee their homes.Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director had also urged the United Nations and donor governments to publicly call on the Burmese government to ensure aid organisations can reach those in need.“Recent violence in northern Rakhine State has led the army to deny access to aid agencies that provide essential health care and food to people at grave risk,” he said in a statement.“Rohingya and others have been especially vulnerable since the ethnic cleansing campaign in 2012, and many rely on humanitarian aid to survive.” Rohingya activists have alleged that government forces have committed serious abuses during the current operations, including summary executions and the burning of villages. A World Food Programme (WFP) partnerships officer said authorities have blocked all aid deliveries to Maungdaw township since Oct 9 and aid agencies have not been able to conduct a needs assessment.“We have asked [for access] from township level to Union level,” he said.“Official explanation [for being denied access] is that security operations are ongoing.”Broad and open-ended restrictions are not permissible under international law, HRW, although authorities may restrict freedom of movement for specific security reasons for a limited period of time. ASIAN correspondent
Israel arrests 19 in Jerusalem, closes West Bank
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-arrests-19-in-jerusalem-closes-west-bank/670740
Jerusalem; Israeli police have arrested 19 Palestinians during overnight raids in the occupied West Bank as the military closed off the occupied Palestinian territories ahead of a Jewish holiday starting Sunday. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweeted that those arrested had been involved in "riots" during the Yom Kippur holiday two weeks ago. Palestinian youth had clashed with Israeli forces in several East Jerusalem neighborhoods after Israeli authorities closed them off with concrete blocks to prevent any access to Jewish areas of Jerusalem during Yom Kippur.According to Palestinian news agency Ma'an, 64 Palestinians were arrested in Jerusalem in the past week, as security was heightened for week-long Jewish holiday Sukkot.Anadolu
Sanaa air raids resume as Yemen truce expires
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161023-sanaa-air-raids-resume-as-yemen-truce-expires/
Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition attacked targets in Sanaa at dawn on Sunday, hours after a 3-day truce in Yemen’s war expired, residents in the capital said.The ceasefire, agreed in order to allow an increased flow of humanitarian aid, ended without renewal after a day of heavy fighting between Saudi-led Arab alliance and Iran-allied Houthi movement.Each side accused the other of repeatedly violating the truce and UN attempts to extend it before it lapsed appeared to have failed. Middleeastmonitor
Swiss court faults employer for firing woman over headscarf
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/swiss-court-faults-employer-for-firing-woman-over-headscarf-3098913/
Geneva:A Swiss court has ruled against a company that fired a longtime employee after she began wearing the Muslim headscarf, marking one of the first such rulings in Switzerland, media reported on Sunday. A regional court in Bern ruled last month that a 29-year-old Serbian woman was fired without just cause from a dry cleaning business, and ordered the company to dish out back-pay and damages to her,Le MatinDimanche weekly said.AFP
lysis: Egyptians losing patience with Sisi as economy deteriorates
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161023-analysis-egyptians-losing-patience-with-sisi-as-economy-deteriorates/
Norway integration minister faces resignation calls after telling Muslims 'we eat pork and drink alcohol'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/norway-integration-minister-muslim-eat-pork-drink-alcohol-show-face-sylvi-listhaug-a7372991.html
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:08 PM)
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