NEWS DIGEST, MID-DAY
09 Aug 2018:26 Ziqada 1439: Vol:10, No:84
INDIA
Triple Talaq bill: Cabinet approves provision of bail by magistrate, offence remains non-bailable
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/triple-talaq-cabinet-bail-magistrate-accused-muslim-men-women-divorce-5299170/
New Delhi: Union Cabinet today approved inclusion of a provision of granting bail to men found guilty of giving instant triple talaq to their wives, sources in the government said. While the offence continues to remain non-bailable, the latest provision makes it permissible for a magistrate to grant bail to the accused.The triple talaq bill aims to “set aside” the centuries-old practice of instant divorce by men.While the Bill was cleared by Lok Sabha last year, it made little headway in Rajya Sabha where the government lacks numbers. The provision of bail was one of the demands of the opposition parties. Under the amendments cleared today, the magistrate will have powers to grant bail, the sources said.The proposed law would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’ and it would give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking “subsistence allowance” for herself and minor children.A woman can also seek the custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the issue. The Bill proposes a 3-year jail term and fine for any Muslim man who divorced his wife by uttering talaq 3 times in quick succession. Sources said the Bill also deals with subsistence allowance for Muslim women and custody of minor children. Indian express
Centre Clears Watered Down Triple Talaq Bill For Rajya Sabha
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/triple-talaq-bill-centre-clears-watered-down-law-for-rajya-sabha-say-sources-1897865
Cabinet amends instant triple talaq bill allowing magistrate to give bail, offence remains non-bailable
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cabinet-amends-instant-triple-talaq-bill-allowing-magistrate-to-give-bail-offence-remains-non-bailable/articleshow/65337121.cms
Majlis, sharia courts to help prevent cases of talaq
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/majlis-sharia-courts-to-help-prevent-cases-of-triple-talaq/articleshow/65329279.cms
Mumbai: Women advocacy group Majlis has joined hands with a group of city-based Darul Qazas or Shariah courts to help resolve Muslims’ matrimonial disputes and prevent triple talaq. Activists from Majlis and several qazis(judges) from Darul Qazas decided to co-ordinate and help each other to provide relief to women victims, at a brainstorming session at Islam Gymkhana on Wednesday.“There is a wrong impression that Majlis is hostile to Muslims. We work among women victims, many of them Muslims, and want to help Darul Qazas, and get their help in reconciliation and counselling process so that women don’t have to knock at doors of courts often,” said Majlis founder head Flavia Agnes. She agreed that Darul Qazas are not parallel courts but function as counselling and reconciliation centres and help reduce the burden of courts.All-India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi said only practising Muslims visit Darul Qazas and qazis cannot deviate from Quranic commandments and Sharia rules while resolving disputes.Senior advocate Yusuf Muchhala, who also heads Muslim Personal Law Board’s legal cell, suggested that Darul Qazas should not confine themselves to passing judgements but also work for social reforms within Muslim society. He agreed that the term ‘Shariah court’ gives the impression that they are parallel courts, but they are not courts as their rulings are not binding, and if a party is unhappy with its ruling, they can always approach secular courts.TOI
Fearful Muslim families flee UP's village as cops crack down to ‘help’ kanwarias
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/fearful-families-flee-uttar-pradesh-village-as-cops-crack-down-to-help-kanwarias-5298492/
Khelum (UP):“We have secret information that during the Kanwar yatra you might create trouble…with this red card we are informing you that if you create any trouble during the Kanwar yatra, action will be taken against you. You will be held accountable.”This is what “red cards” given to at least 250 residents — Muslims and Hindus — of Khelum village in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh by police over the last week say. Apart from the police’s red cards, meant to deliver a “psychological message”, the district administration has identified 441 locals who “may cause trouble” and have had them sign “symbolic” bonds of Rs 5 lakh if they disturb the peace.The measures, which have set off panic in the village and prompted 70 Muslim families to leave, come a year after violence marred this village during the annual Kanwar Yatra that is underway. During the yatra last year, clashes between Muslims and Kanwarias who passed through a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood in Khelum village left dozens from both communities and 15 security personnel injured. 2 FIRs were registered — one naming 29 Muslims and another naming 14 Hindus.Kanwar Yatra will go through the same route this year. And while Hindus in the village, who are confident of a peaceful yatra, are not worried, the red cards, the frequent searches at homes and Rs 5 lakh bonds are an indication of trouble for most Muslims in Khelum.On Tuesday, the road leading up to the village is deserted – shops are shut, houses locked from outside and few roam the streets. Muslims reside on both side of this road and it is through here that the Kanwarias are scheduled to pass before reaching a temple at Guleria village, some 8 km away. Khelum has a population of 5,000, and Muslims, primarily engaged in farming or as labourers, account for 70 per cent.indianexpress
UP Cops ‘Red Card’ For Kanwariyas Terrifies Muslims: 70 Families Flee Village
http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/2/14635/UP-Cops-Red-Card-For-Kanwariyas-Terrifies-Muslims-70-Families-Flee-Village
After Delhi, kanwarias vandalise police vehicle in UP’s Bulandshahr
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/after-delhi-kanwarias-vandalise-police-vehicle-in-ups-bulandshahr/
New Delhi:In a fresh case of violence, a group of kanwarias was caught on camera attacking a police vehicle in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday morning — hours after some kanwarias had vandalised a car in Delhi on Tuesday.Following the incident, an FIR was registered against 8 named and 50 unidentified kanwariyas.A video of the incident shows around 50-60 kanwarias attacking the police vehicle, smashing the windows and a police officer trying to control the crowd in Bugrasi Narsena police station area of Bulandshahr. Police had reached the area after reports of a clash between two groups. indian express
NDA Candidate Harivansh Singh Wins Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Elections
https://thewire.in/politics/nda-candidate-harivansh-narayan-singh-wins-rajya-sabha-deputy-chairman-elections
New Delhi:NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh won Rajya Sabha deputy chairman elections held today with 125 votes. Opposition candidate B.K. Hariprasad of Congress party received 105 votes.Singh is a JDU leader from Bihar and a former journalist.The post was held before this by Congress leader P.J. Kurien, who retired on July 1.In the Upper House of 244 members, a candidate needed a minimum of 123 votes to win. BJP does not have a majority on its own in the House, and nominating a JD(U) candidate for the post was seen as the saffron party’s attempt to reach out to its allies. However, opposition’s chances looked bleak after reports that Naveen Patnaik’s BJD would be supporting the NDA candidate. Patnaik is said to have told Modi that the party could support Singh as he was a non-BJP candidate. Other disgruntled allies – the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal – also said they would vote with the NDA.AAP had said that it will ‘boycott’ the elections because the Congress had not fulfilled its condition for support – a phone call from Rahul Gandhi. While Bihar chief minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar did call AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal to ask for support for Singh, Kejriwal reportedly turned down the offer as he did not want to vote for the official NDA candidate. YSR Congress, DMK and a Trinamool Congress MPs also stayed out of the vote, NDTV reported.thewire
SC/ST Commission summons AMU V-C
https://www.oneindia.com/india/sc-st-commission-summons-aligarh-muslim-university-vc-2752382.html
New Delhi: The government does not want to leave any chance to please Dalit community in the election as the decision of AMU not allowing a reservation to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes may cost it dear.National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Commission has asked V-C of the university to appear before it on Aug 9. The commission is committed to provide reservation to Dalits in these institutions. Now the commission will tighten its noose on Jamia Milia Islamia as well. Chairman of National Scheduled Caste Commission Ram Shankar Katheria said that he was committed to get reservation implemented in these institutions. He said that AMU utilized over Rs 7000 crore in the past 10 years. If the institution is getting financial assistance from the government why can't it follow constitutional provisions to provide reservations to SCs and others. He said that AMU was not a minority institution. This is simply a Central University and every rule and instruction as per Indian constitution is applicable here.oneindia
Slain Kashmir militant clears police recruitment list 4 days after encounter
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/slain-kashmir-militant-clears-police-recruitment-list-four-days-after-encounter/story-zf7EFnPpczgbxBRF77VB6K.html
Srinagar: 4 days after he was killed in an encounter with security forces, a 25-year-old militant’s name has showed up in the shortlist for a sub-inspector’s (SI) post of Jammu and Kashmir police.Khurhsid Ahmad Malik, a BTech graduate and resident of Pulwama in south Kashmir had appeared in the test before joining militants, police said.His name appears at serial number 1913 in the list of candidates shortlisted for interview for sub-inspector (executive and armed wings) after qualifying in the written test which was conducted in June.Malik’s run as a militant was a very short one. He was killed along with his colleague Riyaz Ahmad Dar in a gunfight with security forces at Sopore in Baramulla district of north Kashmir on August 3, two days after he joined militancy. A soldier was also killed in the encounter.HT
BJP demands NCR for Hyderabad
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/bjp-demands-ncr-for-hyderabad/article24627252.ece
Hyderabad: Telangana BJP has demanded the government to publish the National Citizen Rgister (NCR) for Hyderabad and Telangana to identify inflitrators from the neighbouring countries and deport them. “TRS government should publish a white paper on the number of citizens staying illegally in the capital and start the process of deporting them,” said party president K.Laxman on Tuesday.BJP leader wanted government to bring out NRC similar to the process being undertaken in Assam pointing out that the the household survey taken up four years has all the details so it should not be difficult to make out a list. “Rohingya settlements in quite a few colonies in the twin cities here is indication of the dangerous trend of infiltration of people from Myanmar and Bangladesh. There are also reports of they having obtained Aadhaar and ration cards to masquerade as full fledged citizens,” he said.thehindu
Rajasthan government renames Muslim village, Miyo ka Bara becomes Mahesh Nagar
https://www.newsx.com/national/rajasthan-miyo-ka-bara-mahesh-nagar-muslim-village-rename-vasundhara-raje
Union Home Ministry has cleared Rajasthan state government’s proposal to change the name of Miyon Ka Bara village in Barmer district to Mahesh Nagar. The move has come on the heels of a controversy regarding the renaming of the Mughalsarai railway junction to Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction.Within the 4 years, BJP has been in power, it has renamed a large number of schemes after some of the prominent leaders of the Sangh. Now it’s interesting to note that the renaming spree is longer limited to schemes, names of places are also being renamed.Newsx
SC grants parole to 80-year-old blast convict Mohammed Amin to see his ailing wife
http://caravandaily.com/portal/sc-grants-parole-to-80-year-old-blast-convict-mohammed-amin-to-see-his-ailing-wife/
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has ordered release of an 80-year-old blast convict on parole from a Rajasthan jail for 21 days. Mohammad Amin, who has been in jail for about 25 years, had approached the SC after his request for parole to see his ailing wife was rejected by the Rajasthan government.Amin was arrested in 1994 for serial blasts in trains in Mumbai in 1993. He was awarded life imprisonment under the provisions of TADA.“After hearing learned counsel for the parties and having regard to the judgment of this Court in Asfaq vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors., (2017) 15 SCC 55, we direct that the petitioner shall be released on Parole for a period of twenty one days on the condition that he shall report to the SHO of the concerned Police Station on every third day,” ordered a Supreme Court bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan. Caravan daily
Pakistan also on hunt for Dawood aide’s custody, Thai court rules he is Indian
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pakistan-also-on-hunt-for-dawood-aides-custody-thai-court-rules-he-is-indian-5298456/
Mumbai:In what could be seen as a diplomatic victory for India, a Thailand court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Mumbai Crime Branch and observed that Mudassar Hussain Sayed, alias Munna Jhingada, an alleged aide of Dawood Ibrahim, is an Indian citizen. Both India and Pakistan have been contesting for his custody for the last 18 years, each claiming Jhingada is its national and should be extradited for him to be brought to justice. Jhingada, said to be an ace shooter, has been lodged in a Thailand jail on charges of shooting Dawood’s rival Chhota Rajan in Bangkok in 2000. Rajan was deported in November 2015 and is on trial in some of the 70-plus cases against him.In 2014-15, after pursuing for long Jhingada’s family members, who stay in Mumbai suburb Jogeshwari, the Crime Branch secured a court order to get DNA samples of his parents and sister. The samples were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here, which carried out its profiling and sequencing. The reports were sent to the Thai authorities along with other documents such as Jhingada’s school leaving certificate, birth record of his first child, who was born in Mumbai, his voter ID cars, among others.indianexpress
26 women missing from two shelter homes in UP’s Pratapgarh
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/30-women-missing-from-two-shelter-homes-in-pratapgarh/story-33AxnYpDVxpWz5znPXCmJJ.html
Pratapgarh:At least 26 women were found missing from two women’s shelter homes run by NGOs in Pratapgarh, 70 km north of Allahabad during a surprise inspection by the district magistrate on Wednesday, officials said.The inspection was part of a statewide crackdown in Uttar Pradesh following the rescue of 24 girls from a shelter in Deoria on Sunday after one of the girls escaped and alerted the police about the alleged sexual exploitation at the facility.“A team was constituted to inquire into the anomalies at the women’s shelters,” DM Shambhu Kumar. A team headed by the DM first inspected a women’s shelter at Achalpur. The shelter’s records showed 15 women registered in the documents, but 12 of them were not present there.The shelter’s superintendent Neha Praveen claimed that all women had gone for work. The shelter authorities failed to provide the account register and it did not have CCTV cameras which are mandatory.
ATS nabs absconder in Ghatkopar blast case from Gujarat
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/ats-nabs-absconder-in-ghatkopar-blast-case/articleshow/65330062.cms
Ahmedabad: Gujarat ATS arrested Yahya Shaikh, an absconder in the 2002 Ghatkopar blast case in Mumbai, on late Tuesday night. Shaikh, who had been absconding for 16 years was arrested by a team of Gujarat ATS officials from Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Shaikh was the director of a software company before he planned and executed the blast which killed two persons and injured more than 50. He had fled to Riyadh immediately after the crime. Gujarat ATS sources said the bomb was planted under the rear seat of a BEST bus, on December 2, 2002, 4 days ahead of December 6, when in 1993, the Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya. The attack was planned to avenge the Babri demoliton. Himanshu Shukla, senior SP, Gujarat ATS, said Shaikh has been handed over to Mumbai crime branch, but there are still four accused in the same case who are at large. “Those still absconding include Abdul Ansari, Abu Hamza Farooque, Irfan Ahmed Qureshi and Tajul Siddique, all from Aurangabad,” said Shukla. DSP K K Patel said that on a tip-off they had dispatched a team comprising inspector R I Jadeja , Nikhil Bhatt and sub-inspector Sontosh Odedra to Aurangabad. “We had kept a watch on the Kesar Colony residence of Shaikh. On Tuesday night we nabbed him. He had come from Riyadh just 3 days ago,” Patel said. ATS sources said during primary interrogation it came to light that Shaikh was the director of a software company in Aurangabad and it was in his office where the Ghatkopar blast had been planned. timesofindia
Right to speech not licence to hurt religious beliefs: HC
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/right-to-speech-not-licence-to-hurt-religious-beliefs-hc/articleshow/65329248.cms
Kochi:The fundamental right to speech is not an absolute licence to hurt religious beliefs of fellow citizens and persons who do so are not entitled to get anticipatory bail, which is a discretionary power of courts, the Kerala high court said on Wednesday. “The fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression in a secular state is not an absolute license to injure and hurt the religious feelings and faiths and beliefs of fellow citizens. Persons who take the risk of publication and dissemination of scurrilous and blasphemous messages are not entitled to get the discretion of the court exercised in their favour,” Justice R Narayana Pisharadi said in the judgment on a petition seeking anticipatory bail. The court said cybercrimes have now become a major threat to society and social media provides opportunities for commission of crimes at a mass level. Responsible use of social media has become the need of the hour, the court noted while adopting a hard line against misuse of social media to hurt religious sentiments. The court was considering an anticipatory bail petition filed by 28-year-old Bijumon Narayanan of Thelakkad in Malappuram. He was accused of posting a comment on a Facebook page about a ‘news report’ published by ‘Marunadan Malayali’ about a prospective war between members of Islam and Christianity.TOI
Gujarat High Court stays Hardik Patel’s jail term in 2015 rioting case
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hardik-patel-rioting-case-gujarat-high-court-5298242/
Ahmedabad:Gujarat High Court on Wednesday suspended the jail term awarded by a trial court to Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel in a 2015 rioting case. The stay order, passed by Justice SH Vora, will be valid till the next hearing.“The High Court has given its order in a case filed by me. Now, whatever process is required in the High Court, we will do that,” Hardik Patel told reporters soon after the order. “I have been maintaining that we have not carried out any illegal activity that we should be punished,” he said.A mob of up to 500 people had turned violent and vandalised the then BJP MLA Rushikesh Patel’s office during a rally organised in 2015 to demand job and educational quota for the Patel community. Other than Hardik, two others who got jail term include Sardar Patel Group leader Laljibhai Patel and AK Patel. Fourteen others who were also booked for rioting, arson, damage to property and unlawful assembly, were, acquitted by the trial court.“We have been working for truth and if I raise the issues of people and you want to dub Hardik as a rebel, then I am a rebel,” Hardik said, adding that he would undertake an indefinite fast on August 25, the third anniversary of the first mega rally of Patels in 2015.IANS
Telangana : Muslim girls stay longer in school than boys: study
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/muslim-girls-stay-longer-in-school-than-boys-study/article24636691.ece
Hyderabad :Girls from the Muslim community in the State tend to stay longer in school than boys from the same community, a research paper has found, the reason being better access to schools and increased security measures for women in Telangana as compared to several other States.Authored by Commission of Inquiry (CoI) member Amir Ullah Khan, a research paper on Educational Status of Muslims - Focus on Telangana noted that the mean years of schooling, or the average number of completed years in school education of Muslim girls in Telangana is higher than that of boys.The research paper is one of 18 such documents compiled in a recently-released book ‘Vision 2025 Socio Economic Inequalities’ edited by Mr. Khan and academician Abdul Azim Akhtar.The research paper uses data obtained from the National Sample Survey Organisation which shows that Muslim girls in rural Telangana spent 6.1 years in school as compared to 5.4 years by boys. In urban areas, the number rose to 6.7 years as compared to 5.9 years for boys.Data also showed that other minority communities – Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Budhhists and Parsis – have fared better as compared to other socio-religious groups including Hindus, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Explaining the trend, Mr. Khan said,“The book has a study of 16 States. What we found is that as compared to many States, in Telangana, there is relatively better access to education for Muslims. Security and safety is an advantage for Muslim girls which is why their mean years of schooling is higher than that of Muslim boys.”thehindu
WORLD
Israel pounds Gaza, killing a pregnant woman and her child
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/israel-pounds-gaza-killing-pregnant-woman-child-180809031129429.html
At least 3 Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her 18-month-old child, were killed by Israeli air attacks and artillery shelling on the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli launched more than 140 attacks after about 150 rockets were fired from the coastal enclave, injuring at least six people in Israel. Israel's military on Thursday warned Hamas against a further escalation in violence, and Israeli media said officials were considering evacuating residents from areas near Gaza border."The way things continue to play out is significant. Hamas will understand in the coming hours, as in the past months, that this is not the direction it wants to choose," a senior military official was quoted as saying on the military's Twitter account.Military officials were quoted as saying by local media that Israel is close to a military operation in Gaza in which "Hamas will be hit hard."Yuval Steinitz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner cabinet, told Israel Radio:"We are not eager for war and are not interested in a broader confrontation, but at the same time it could certainly happen because we will not make any concessions to Hamas."Israel's security cabinet will convene at 13:00 GMT to discuss the Gaza escalation. Abdullatif al-Kanoo, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a Twitter post on Thursday:"In regards to the continuing [Israeli] aggression…Palestinian resistance is in self-defence and has a duty to respond to the aggression against our people."Escalation of the barbaric shelling of Gaza and the deliberate targeting of civilians is premeditated and the occupation will suffer the repercussions and pay a higher price for its crimes."Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing health sources, reported at least 12 Palestinians were wounded in the overnight barrage.The attacks come as the UN and Egypt try to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas for a lasting truce. Nickolay Mladenov, the UN's special coordinator for Middle East peace process, said on Wednesday he was "deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of violence between Gaza and Israel, and particularly by today's mutiple rockets fired towards communities in southern Israel". aljazeera
Israeli opposition challenges controversial nation state law
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/israeli-opposition-questions-controversial-nation-state-law-180808193720861.html
Israel's parliament has debated a controversial law which declares the country the exclusive homeland of the Jewish people, after widespread protests erupted in recent weeks demanding that it be modified.The special Knesset session on Wednesday convened after the opposition secured the 25 votes required to hold the debate. Opposition is demanding that the government include a provision guaranteeing equality for all Israeli citizens. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni of the Zionist Union, expressed her desire to see a version of the law that would describe Israel as the "nation-state of the Jewish people with full equality for all its citizens."Livni lambasted Netanyahu's right-wing government for attempting to "dissolve the bonds between us [Jews and minorities] with his acid," and pledged to replace new nation state law with the country's 1948 declaration of independence.aljazeera
Colombia recognizes Palestine as independent state
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/colombia-recognizes-palestine-as-independent-state/1226111
Colombia:Colombia has decided to recognize Palestine as a “free, independent and sovereign” state, the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission in Bogota said Wednesday.“This decision is synonymous with the work carried out to strengthen diplomatic ties between the Palestinian and Colombian governments, an effort that…will definitively be strengthened in the near future,” the mission said in a press release.Colombia was the only South American nation that had not recognized Palestine as a sovereign state. Its decision brings the number of countries worldwide that do so to 140.Alexander Montero, political adviser to the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission in Bogota, said the decision was taken after a long struggle and series of conversations with many Colombian governments. In fact, Palestine has had diplomatic representation in Colombia for the past 22 years.Anadolu Agency
Yemen: Dozens of civilians killed in school bus attack
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/yemen-dozens-children-killed-wounded-school-bus-attack-180809085843444.html
An attack blamed on a Saudi-Emirati military alliance on a school bus carrying children in Yemen killed and wounded dozens of people.Ghani Nayeb, head of a health department in Saada province where the air strikes took place, told Reuters news agency the death toll stood at 43 with 61 others wounded."Scores killed, even more injured, most under the age of 10," Johannes Bruwer, head of delegation for the International Committee of the Red Crescent (ICRC) in Yemen, said in a Twitter post.The bus attack occurred outside a busy market in Dahyan city in Houthi-rebel controlled Saada in Yemen's north, which borders Saudi Arabia.Al Masirah, a pro-Houthi rebel TV network, said the deaths were caused by air strikes from the Saudi-Emirati coalition.There was no immediate comment from the military alliance."As soon as this bus entered a busy market, the Saudi coalition targeted this bus," Hakim Masmari, editor of the Yemen Post, said.aljazeera
Report: Chile's Bachelet to be next UN human rights chief as Jordan's Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein retiring
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/report-chile-bachelet-human-rights-chief-180808193849656.html
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has chosen former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to be the world body's new human rights chief, 5 diplomats told Reuters news agency. UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed told a group of ambassadors about the decision on Tuesday, diplomats said on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, as no official announcement has been made.Guterres' spokesman Farhan Haq did not confirm the selection of Bachelet as the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, the job's official title.If confirmed, Bachelet's appointment needs to be approved by the 193-member UN General Assembly. If she is chosen, she would replace Jordan's Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, who is stepping down at the end of the month after one 4-year term in the Geneva-based job. Zeid is well-known as an outspoken critic of world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines."If selected, Bachelet will be taking on one of the world's most difficult jobs at a moment when human rights are under widespread attack," said HRW executive director Kenneth Roth.Bachelet, a victim of torture under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, was conservative Chile's first female leader.aljazeera
Saudi is using Canada to send a message: analysts
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/saudi-arabia-canada-send-message-analysts-180808203344288.html
Montreal:Saudi Arabia's decision to expel Canada's ambassador,recall thousands of students studying in North American country, and suspend future trade with Ottawa took many off guard this week. Saudi authorities pointed to a series of tweets, in which Canada's foreign affairs ministry called for the release of jailed Saudi human rights activists, as the reason for the ongoing diplomatic flare-up.But experts say the spat is not about the statements, but rather, it's the latest attempt by Riyadh to warn other countries of the consequences of speaking out against the kingdom's human rights record. "It's pretty clear that [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] is using Canada to send a message to the rest of the world that if you want to trade with Saudi, then you need to shut up on human rights," said Nader Hashemi, director of the University of Denver's Center for Middle East Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Hashemi said the root cause of the diplomatic crisis with Canada is bin Salman himself.The crown prince, commonly referred to as MBS,"is drunk on power and arrogant and suffers from a deep dose of youthful naivete and believes that he has Donald Trump in his back pocket and can do whatever he wants", Hashemi said.aljazeera
Turkey continues trading with Iran despite US sanctions
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180809-turkey-continues-trading-with-iran-despite-us-sanctions/
Turkey will continue to commit to its long-term energy trade agreement despite the re-imposition of the US sanctions, Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez announced yesterday. Speaking in an interview with a private Turkish channel, Donmaz said that his country buys about 9.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Iran annually, stressing: “We are conducting legitimate trade with Iran.”“Our agreement with the Islamic republic is valid until 2026,” the Turkish minister noted, stressing: “This is important for us regarding natural gas supply security as well.” MEMO
FLASH VIEWS & NEWS
Why I feel only Congress can resolve the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute:Sadhavi Khosla
https://www.dailyo.in/voices/ayodhya-ram-janmabhoomi-babri-masjid-congress-bjp-ram-lalla/story/1/25927.html
There is a powerful argument for not abrogating Article 35A. But we must also think beyond the binaries on it:Pratap Bhanu Mehta
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/article-35a-kashmir-radicalisation-separatism-kashmeeriyat-india-dissent-polarisation-pakistan-militancy-the-nuances-5298312/
Quit India Movement: RSS didn’t participate, yet PM Modi speaks passionately of it:Mohan Guruswamy
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/quit-india-movement-rss-didnt-participate-yet-pm-modi-speaks-passionately-of-it
RSS Reaps Blooming Crop of Religious Hatred in India — Prof Shamsul Islam
http://caravandaily.com/portal/rss-reaps-the-blooming-crop-of-religious-hatred-in-india-prof-shamsul-islam/
India needs Muslim neuroscientists and Dalit Fields medalists among its STEM researchers:Devesh Kapur
https://theprint.in/opinion/india-needs-dalit-field-medalists-and-muslim-neuroscientists-among-its-stem-researchers/95680/
A response to the article: “Zakir Naik Is Anathema to Secular Democracy, His Communal Agenda Must Be Halted”: Ubaid ur Rahman
http://twocircles.net/2018aug09/425193.html
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 6:18 PM)
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