NEWS DIGEST, MID-DAY
18 OCT. 2018: 08 Safar 1440: Vol: 11, No:35
INDIA
In UP, orphan girls with Muslim names married to Hindu boys as per Hindu rituals by administration
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/girls-with-muslim-names-married-as-per-hindu-rituals/articleshow/66269415.cms
Lucknow:4 orphan girls with Muslim names were married to Hindu boys as per Hindu rituals along with 27 other Hindu couples at a mass wedding organized by the district administration at Kalyan Mandap in Mahanagar on Wednesday under UP govt's mass marriage scheme. All the couples had first tied nuptial knots on Tuesday in the court under the Special Marriage Act as part of the programme held in coordination with social welfare and women welfare depts.31 orphan girls, 4 Muslims and 27 Hindus, belonged to the Govt women shelter home where they were living since the age between 6-10 after being declared orphans. They were selected for mass marriage by the district administration officials. Around 11am on Wednesday, all 31 couples took 7 rounds of the sacred fire and exchanged garlands under the mandap while pundits recited shlokas. 4 Muslims girls who were married to Hindu boys were Rizwana, Noori, Seema and Saba. Rizwana tied knot with Raj Kumar who was from Shahjahanpur district, Noori wedded with Bablu from Aligarh, Seema with Umesh Kumar Dixit and Saba with Vijay Singh, resident of Hardoi. District probation officer Sudhakar Pandey said: "Orphan girls were brought to shelter home when they were 6-10 years old. When they turned 18 and became eligible for marriage, the administration decided to wed them with eligible boys. So an advertisement was floated in newspapers. Hundreds of boys responded and applied for marriage but only a few were selected. After their selection, we contacted girls of shelter homes. After receiving their approvals, the mass marriage event was organised." When asked why Muslim girls were married to Hindus and that too with Hindu rituals, chief development officer Manish Bansal said,"You are raising an 'unfortunate question' about religion of these orphan girls. They have Muslim names but they had no religion while they were in shelter home. They did not follow or performed any religious traditions or rituals. They were first married under the Special Marriage Act before performing rituals here at the mandap. Now after their marriage, they will follow their husband's religion. Also Govt helped them by providing them financial help and some essential. Couple were gifted with Rs 35,000 in their bank accounts along with silver jewellery and other gifts." When TOI asked Seema, one of the Muslim brides, whether she was informed about the marriage with a Hindu boy with Hindu rituals or not, she said "Acceptance was taken for marriage after providing backgrounds of the groom, but were not informed about the mandap ceremony."TOI
No evidence of love jihad: NIA probe into interfaith marriages in Kerala ends
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nia-ends-kerala-probe-says-there-s-love-but-no-jihad/story-wlpWR7BMNcdJHkb1MUso4J.html
New Delhi:NIA “examination” of interfaith marriages in Kerala has not unearthed any evidence of coercion that can result in prosecution in these cases, officials familiar with the matter said. One of them added that while there may have been efforts to facilitate the conversion of either the man or the woman involved, there was no evidence of a larger criminal design.“NIA is not supposed to file any further report in this regard in the Supreme Court. As far as the NIA is concerned, the matter stands closed as the agency has not found any evidence to suggest that in any of these cases either the man or the woman was coerced to convert,” said a senior agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity.NIA picked 11 cases of interfaith marriages in Kerala for examination as part of its probe into so-called cases of “love jihad” at the instance of the SC. These 11 cases were picked up from a list of 89 interfaith marriages that were already before law enforcement authorities (usually because of complaints by parents) and which were referred to the federal anti-terrorism agency by the Kerala police.The investigation happened in the context of the celebrated Hadiya case. “At least one among 11 marriages under examination was purely a matter of relationship gone sour. In most of the other cases we found that a similar set of people and outfits associated with PFI were involved in helping either the man or the woman involved in a relationship to convert to Islam, but we didn’t find any prosecutable evidence to bring formal charges against these persons under any of the scheduled offences of NIA, like UAPA,” added official. The official said the Constitution of India had provided freedom to practice and promote religion in a peaceful manner to all citizens as a fundamental right. PFI’s legal advisor KP Muhammer Shareef labelled the concept of love jihad a “sinister design cooked up by right wing forces” to “target the Muslim community at large” and claimed the effort was aimed at portraying the PFI and (its political arm), SDPI, as conduit pipes for love jihad.“Umpteen investigations and enquiries conducted by various agencies have now found the allegation of love jihad is obnoxious, fictitious and without any scintilla of evidence,” said Shareef.Still, results of this investigation should not be construed as a “clean chit” for PFI, NIA official said.HT
NIA finds no evidence of Love Jihad after probe
https://thewire.in/politics/nia-love-jihad-kerala-hadiya
Bhagwat: Govt should make law for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/mohan-bhagwat-demands-law-for-ram-temple-construction-in-ayodhya-5407151/
Nagpur :Calling for early construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today demanded ‘an appropriate and requisite law’ for it. “Govt should clear the path for construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya through an appropriate and requisite law. The temple construction was necessary from the ‘self-esteem point of view’ and it will also pave way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness,”he said in his annual Vijayadashmi address in Nagpur.Bhagwat blamed politics for the delay in construction of the temple.“This matter of national interest is being obstructed by some fundamentalist elements and forces that play communal politics for selfish gains.Politics is delaying the construction of Ram Mandir. Despite such machinations, the decision on ownership of the land should be expedited and the Govt should clear the path for the construction of the ‘grand temple through an appropriate and requisite law’,”he said.Asserting that construction has much to do with the sentiments of crores of people in the country, he said, “Sangh has been associated with the sentiments of Bharatiyas, in the efforts of constructing a magnificent Ram temple at the birthplace of Sri Ram, the personification of the life energy of the nation.” he further said,“Place of janmabhoomi is yet to be allocated for the construction of the temple although all kinds of evidence have affirmed that there was a temple at that place. There is an obvious game plan of a few elements to stall the judgement by presenting various newer interventions in the judicial process, he said, adding that it is nobody’s interest to test the patience of society without any reason.”indianexpress
Bhagwat says Centre should bring ordinance to build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya
https://www.newsx.com/national/rss-chief-mohan-bhagwat-says-centre-should-bring-ordinance-to-build-ram-mandir-in-ayodhya
Bhagwat on Sabarimala verdict: Premise of tradition not taken into consideration
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/mohan-bhagwat-vijayadashami-event-speech-nagpur-rss-sabarimala-ram-temple-india-pakistan-5406919/
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said that “premise of the tradition that has been accepted by society and continuously followed for years together was not taken into consideration” in the Sabarimala case. “The version of heads of religious denominations and faiths of crores of devotees was not taken into consideration,” RSS chief said while delivering his speech at a Vijayadashami event in Nagpur.indianexpress
Sabarimala Protests: RSS has been intolerant of temple’s uniqueness, says Kerala CM
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sabarimala-hartal-kerala-live-updates-24-hour-bandh-called-5406739/?#liveblogstart
In the wake of the 24-hour hartal which was called Wednesday midnight,Section 144 of CrPc has been imposed in 4 places across Kerala today and tomorrow. District Collector of Pathanamthitta P.B. Nooh said the primary concern of the police is safety of children. A day after intense protests and violence over Supreme Court’s verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple, doors to which opened for the first time on Wednesday since the court’s judgment, two right-wing outfits ‘Antharashtriya Hindu Parishad’ led by ex VHP chief Pravin Togadia and the ‘Sabarimala Samrakshana Samithi’ called for the hartal. Outfits have been protesting against the Kerala Govt abiding by the top court’s judgment.Women devotees and journalists along the road to Ayyappa shrine were attacked by protesters on Wednesday. As protests intensified, police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse agitators blocking roads leading to Sabarimala.indianexpress
Hindu brothers don’t call me for campaigning, there is fear: Ghulam Nabi Azad
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/aligarh-muslim-university-ghulam-nabi-azad-5406729/
Lucknow :Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the number of Hindu candidates inviting him to campaign for them in elections has reduced drastically in the last 4 years citing that that people were “afraid”. “Since the days of Youth Congress, I have been campaigning across the country from Andaman to Lakshadweep and 95% of those who used to call me were Hindu brothers and leaders, and just 5% were Muslim brothers,” said Azad. “But in the last four years, I have been observed that the figure of 95 has dropped to just 20%. This means that there is something wrong… Today people are afraid to call me… wondering what effect would I have on the voter.”Azad was speaking at an event in Lucknow where AMU alumni were observing the 201st birth anniversary of the University founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.He said that the University was being defamed by a certain group of people from a particular party.“People of a particular party and of a particular thought are fomenting trouble for Kashmiri students and AMU through controversies,” said Azad.indianexpress
Inside story of Akbar’s resignation: women ministers told PM ‘his position has become untenable’India
https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/metoo-mj-akbar-metoo-movement-metoo-india-mj-akbar-resigns-priya-ramani-inside-story-of-mj-akbar-s-resignation-2-women-ministers-told-pm-narendra-modi/300935
New Delhi: MJ Akbar tendered his resignation as the Minister of State for External Affairs, which was later accepted by PM Narendra Modi. In his statement, Akbar claimed that he had decided to quit the Govt as he had sought justice from the court in his personal capacity and would fight the "false accusations" in his personal capacity as well. Here’s the inside track of what led to MJ Akbar quitting from the Govt : As per sources, PM Narendra Modi took an informed decision regarding the matter after giving time to Akbar, who had returned from an official trip to Nigeria on Sunday, to present his side of the story. Contrary to expectations, Akbar’s statement on Sunday did not hint at him quitting his post in wake of the charges. Instead, he attacked his accuser for raising the allegations.However, it was his decision to file a defamation case against Ramani that supposedly did not seem to have gone down well with a few ministers of the Govt. Sources told Times Now’s Managing Editor (Politics) Navika Kumar that in a meeting with PM Modi, 3 senior ministers – including two women ministers- disagreed with Akbar’s decision to file the case against the journalist and told PM that Akbar’s position had become “untenable.” Following this, Akbar was nudged out of his office, with his resigning.timesnownews
MJ Akbar defamation case against Priya Ramani: Matter to be heard on Oct.31
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/m-j-akbar-defamation-case-against-priya-ramani/
New Delhi :A Delhi court today took cognisance of the criminal defamation complaint filed by former minister MJ Akbar against Priya Ramani, first woman journalist to publicly accuse him of sexual misconduct. The court said that it has taken cognisance of the offence under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.The court will record the statements of Akbar and other witnesses during the next hearing on Oct.31.Senior advocate Geeta Luthra, representing Akbar, referred to Ramani’s tweets in her arguments before additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal. Luthra alleged that they have caused irreparable damage to the reputation of the former minister. Akbar has resigned due to these allegations and they show the damage caused to his reputation, his lawyer argued.indianexpress
#MeToo beingused to divert attention from petrol price rise, unemployment: Raj Thackeray
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/-metoo-being-used-to-divert-attention-from-petrol-price-rise-unemployment-raj-thackeray-1370277-2018-10-18
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has said that the ongoing #MeToo movement is a ploy to divert attention from the skyrocketing petrol prices, dip in rupee value against dollar and unemployment in the country.Speaking at an event in Amravati, he discussed the #MeToo movement in India that was sparked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Nana Patekar by Tanushree Dutta. During his speech, Thackeray made several controversial statements. He said that if any woman faces something unwarranted, she can approach the MNS for help, and they'll teach a lesson to the accused. He alsoadded that women should raise their voice as and when they face oppression and not after ten years."It seems it's being done to divert attention from petrol price, rupee value and unemployment. If anything like #MeToo happens, women can come to MNS. We'll teach a lesson to accused. Women must raise their voice when they face oppression, not after 10 years," he said.IndiaToday
Assam teacher arrested for 'cooking beef' in school kitchen
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/assam-teacher-arrested-for-cooking-beef-in-school-kitchen/articleshow/66254188.cms
Guwahati: A teacher in lower Assam's Darrang district was arrested for allegedly cooking beef inside the school kitchen meant to prepare midday meal for students. The accused, Nasiruddin Ahmed, is the head teacher of Dakhin Duliapara Lower Primary School in the minority-dominated Dalgaon area of the district. Based on an FIR lodged by district elementary education officer (DEEO), Ahmed has been charged with trying to promote enmity between different groups on grounds of religion intended to outrage religious feelings. An order issued by Darrang DEEO J Tabassum said,"He has been put under suspension by the district elementary education office with immediate effect for violating school norms, as well as social ethics, willfully."Tabassum said, "After preliminary investigation, it has been found that beef was cooked on the school campus on Monday on the occasion of a management committee meeting. Such an act not only violated the school norms, it is also not socially healthy. There was no official permission for such a party and students were deprived of their midday meal. So, we had no other option left but to suspend him." Education dept. officials said police have been informed about the matter in written as it is a sensitive issue which could have sparked communal tension. TOI
Panjab University instructs departments to profile Kashmiri students, PUCSC protests
https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/8/15287/Panjab-University-Instructs-Departments-to-Profile-Kashmiri-Students-PUCSC-Protests
New Delhi: In an order issued to its departments and centres, Panjab University in Chandigarh has demanded that they begin profiling Kashmiri students.An email from the Dean of University Instructions, Professor Shankarji Jha, to all the departments of Panjab University stated, ‘You are requested to provide information on Kashmiri students admitted to your department/ centre/ institute to the office of the undersigned latest by Oct.11 till 4 pm positively.’The email further stated, ‘This may be treated as most urgent/ time bound.’ The administration has asked for the name of the student, their father’s name, class, address and contact number.The move follows reports of the arrest of 3 Kashmiri students from the CT Institute of Engineering Management and Technology in Jalandhar.Local authorities had alleged that the students were ‘associated with’ the militant outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH).The Citizen spoke to Kanu Priya, the president of the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC), who said, ‘Such details have never been sought from any department before.University authorities have created an environment of suspicion and constant surveillance.’thecitizen
Security forces allegedly thrash some journalists covering Srinagar encounter
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/security-forces-allegedly-thrash-some-journalists-covering-srinagar-encounter-5405941/
Srinagar :Security forces allegedly thrashed some media personnel who were covering an encounter with militants in the city here, a journalist present at the spot said Wednesday. Though the police refused to comment on the alleged incident, a PTI photojournalist present there gave a first-hand account.There were several media personnel who were covering the encounter when some police personnel asked them to leave, he said.However, the media personnel stood their ground, leading to an altercation between 3-4 scribes and police, following which they allegedly thrashed three journalists.Kashmir Press Club (KPC) condemned the incident, alleging that some of the journalists were injured in the security forces action.KPC expressed shock over the behaviour of the security forces and hoped that the state administration will take note of the incident and act accordingly.PTI
J-K civic elections: 69% of 598 wards in Kashmir Valley did not witness polling
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/j-k-civic-elections-69-of-598-wards-in-kashmir-valley-did-not-witness-polling/story-O83mp6nE7rlcv5PbuOBrCI.html
Srinagar:The just-concluded urban local body polls in Kashmir recorded a poor voter turnout but it will perhaps be remembered for nearly 70% of wards not witnessing any polling as there was no candidate at all or some of them winning unopposed.According to data compiled by the election department of J&K , of 598 wards spanning across 40 municipal bodies in 10 districts of the valley, polling was held only in 186 wards. The remaining 412 wards - constituting 68.89% of the total - did not require any voting. Govt had made elaborate security arrangements to secure polling staff and polling stations but kept the identity of candidates, who dared to defy militant threats, a secret for security reasons.As a result, there was no campaigning for these elections and in most cases the candidates chose to remain anonymous. Over 30% of wards in these 40 urban local bodies across Kashmir valley will remain unrepresented.No nomination papers were received from 181 wards (30.26%) for the elections. Most of these wards were in the third phase of polls - 62, followed by 56 in the second phase, 44 in the last and 19 in first phase.PTI
Bhima-Koregaon case: Gautam Navlakha moves Bombay HC to quash FIR
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/bhima-koregaon-case-gautam-navlakha-moves-bombay-hc-to-quash-fir
Civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha, arrested in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima case and his alleged links with Maoists, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the case lodged against him by Pune Police.In his petition filed earlier this month, Navlakha urged the high court to quash FIR lodged against him, claiming there was no evidence against him and that he was being falsely implicated.His petition will be heard Friday by the high court's division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharti Dangre.Navlakha, prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao, activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves and trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj were arrested in August this year by the Pune police.PTI
Where is my husband? Gujarati Muslim woman asks Modi
http://caravandaily.com/portal/where-is-my-husband-gujarati-muslim-woman-asks-modi/
New Delhi/Bhuj:For the last three months, 23-year-old Asiyana has been running from pillar to post in search of her husband, Majid Adam Theba. She claims that Majid was badly assaulted by police before being taken away from their residence in Bhuj, Gujarat. When she had intervened, she was also assaulted by the cops even though she was pregnant.Asiayana was in Delhi on Monday to stand in solidarity with missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed’s mother and also to raise her own issue. It was her first visit to Delhi, near the Parliament and call for help and justice.Addressing an event held in solidarity with Najeeb’s mother Fatima Nafees near the Parliament House, an angry Asiyana said,“When I heard of other cases quite similar to mine, I came over to raise a collective voice. It is unimaginable to feel the emotions of a mother who has been spending sleepless nights as her son has mysteriously disappeared without a trace or and that of a wife, whose husband has been taken away from her without any reason. I want to ask our PM Narendra Modi ji, who also hails from Gujarat. Where is he? Why is he not taking note of such cases? I am also failing to understand why Sonia Gandhi is also silent? I have come Delhi for the first time to fight for my husband’s case. My husband was brutally beaten up, thrashed and taken away from our home, in front of me. Does the Constitution give certain people the right to beat others in such a way along with his wife? Has Modi ji given such right to his Govt (BJP Govt in Gujarat) to beat up a woman, about whose rights he keep pledging?”Her voice quivered as Asiyana took on to speak for the first time in public. During her debut speech she raised questions about the whereabouts of her 27-year-old husband, a daily wager, who had been taken away by a group of policemen to not return till date. Bhuj police had allegedly rampaged the couple’s residence in Sanjognagar, a semi-slum area in Bhuj and beat up both of them before taking Majid away with them on the night of July 19, earlier this year.She alleged that without stating any reason the police beat them. She was pregnant at that time. Since then she never got to see her husband.Caravan Daily
SIM cards issued via Aadhaar verification won’t be disconnected, re-verification of KYC voluntary: UIDAI-DoT
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sim-cards-issued-via-aadhaar-verification-wont-be-disconnected-re-verification-of-kyc-voluntary-uidai-dot/
New Delhi :Aadhaar-issuing body UIDAI and Department of Telecommunication (DOT) issued a statement today clarifying that re-verification of mobile numbers done through Aadhaar is not needed and is voluntary. Telecom providers will not delete authentication logs already done via Aadhaar eKYC before the Supreme Court judgement that prohibited enrollment through Aadhaar-based authentication for issuing fresh SIM cards, the statement said.Refuting claims of a news report that 50 crore mobile users are at the risk of disconnection, joint statement by the UIDAI and DoT said mobile number issued via Aadhaar eKYC will not be disconnected and those who wish to replace Aadhaar eKYC may request the service provider for delinking of her/his Aadhaar by submitting fresh officially valid documents (OVDs) as per earlier DoT circulars on mobile KYC. The statement assured that re-verification of mobile subscribers is voluntary and biometrics obtained via Aadhaar eKYC prior to the judgment will not be deleted.The (UIDAI) had given time till Oct.15 to telecom operators for complying with the apex court order and asked them to close Aadhaar-based verification for their services. Reliance Jio has almost its entire subscriber base enrolled through Aadhaar-based authentication and other telecom operators too started following the process in 2017.indianexpress
Didn’t get permission to interrogate Prajapati: Retired policeman to court
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/prajapati-encounter-sohrabuddin-gujarat-police-interrogate-retired-policeman-court-5406696/
Mumbai:Retired Gujarat policeman VL Solanki, who had conducted the preliminary enquiry in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case in 2006, told the court on Wednesday that he had attempted to seek permission from his seniors to interrogate Tulsiram Prajapati, but he did not get a go-ahead.“I had made an attempt to seek permission from IGP CID (Crime) Geeta Johri, to visit Udaipur Central prison to record the statement of Tulsiram, but could not get permission,” Solanki told the special court.According to Solanki’s statement recorded by CBI in 2010, he had said that he had written a letter to Johri – earlier named as accused in the case but discharged in 2015 – on Dec 18, 2006, requesting permission to examine Prajapati, Sohrabuddin’s associate and eyewitness to his alleged abduction in Nov2005.Prajapati was, however, killed 10 days after this letter was written, in an alleged fake encounter, the CBI claims. In his statement in 2010, Solanki had said that Johri was convinced about giving him the consent to examine Tulsiram. indianexpress
Jaswant Singh’s Son Manvendra Joins Congress in Setback to BJP in Poll-bound Rajasthan
https://www.news18.com/news/india/jaswant-singhs-son-manvendra-joins-congress-in-big-setback-to-bjp-in-poll-bound-rajasthan-1911841.html
Jaipur:Manvendra Singh, son of veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh, joined Congress in a significant political development ahead of the assembly polls in Rajasthan.He met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi before joining the party in the presence of leaders, including Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Avinash Pande and Randeep Surjewala. The party announced the move at a press conference."I met Rahul Gandhi in the morning and he welcomed me into the Party.I have confidence that my supporters will continue to support me," Manvendra said. Congress leaders believe his joining the party will help bring in Rajput votes in the assembly polls. The move came after Manvendra declared he would quit BJP in his 'Swabhiman Rally' held in Barmer last month where he had said "Kamal ka phool, badi bhool".BJP said that the decision will not have any impact on the party's prospects in western Rajasthan."It is a politically wrong decision of Manvendra which will have no impact on BJP.Rajput votes have been with BJP and will remain with us,"Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore said.News18
RSS asks BJP to drop 78 MLAs weeks ahead of polls
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/rss-asks-bjp-to-drop-78-mlas-weeks-ahead-of-polls/articleshow/66268136.cms
Bhopal: Feedback from RSS has left BJP concerned barely 6 weeks ahead of MP assembly polls. Sources say RSS has suggested dropping 78 sitting MLAs and even advised that CM Shivraj Singh contest from Govindpura seat in Bhopal rather than Budhni. Govindpura is a BJP bastion where ex CM Babulal Gaur has had an undefeated eight terms since 1980. While no BJP leader came on record on this, sources said that the Sangh Parivar has urged the ruling party to replace 78 candidates after poor feedback on their performance. This was among the issues discussed at a meeting of BJP state election committee, where the party state top brass agreed that only potential winners will be chosen and no other factor will be considered. The party high command also said no candidate can be dubbed as ‘tainted’ before he or she is convicted in court.TOI
Haj 2019 application process begins
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/haj-2019-application-process-begins/articleshow/66268382.cms
Applications for next year’s Haj pilgrimage will be accepted online from Thursday and the process will be fully digital, the Haj Committee of India announced yesterday. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the pilgrimage will be completely free of subsidy.Subsidy was scrapped by the Union Govt earlier this year.Haj Committee of India, which makes arrangements for the annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, is a statutory body of the Minority Affairs Ministry Speaking at Central Haj House, Naqvi said the online application process for the Haj 2019 will start from today and end on Nov.17. The early start will ensure a smoother process and better facilities for pilgrims, he said.Mumbai Mirror
Turkey, India must spread democratic values in world:Visiting Indian delegation
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/corporate-news/turkey-india-must-spread-democratic-values-in-world/1284851
Ankara:An Indian delegation has called on Turkish and Indian Govt s to spread the strong democratic values across the world.“India and Turkey have to strengthen the democratic values around the world,” the delegation said during their visit to Anadolu Agency HSRQ in capital Ankara.The delegation -- consisting of Prof. P. Koya, managing editor at Thejas daily; E.M. Abdur Rahiman, national executive member of PFI; M.K. Faizi, president of SDPI; and Dr. T.A. Rehmani, secretary of SDPI -- came Turkey to attend a conference on Palestine.Both countries feature as an example for “strong democratic values”, they said.Indian democracy is the largest in the world and Turkish democracy is the strongest in the Middle East, they asserted. Touching people-to-people relations between both countries, they said: “There has been a very strong relation between Turkish and Indian people. And the evidence is the Urdu language itself, which is a mix of Turkish and Persian.” On the close relation between the languages of Turkish and Indian, particularly Urdu, they said at least 10,000 or more words are common in Turkish and Urdu.“We should have cultural centers in Istanbul and Ankara and some big cities,” they added. They also said there should also be Turkish cultural centers in the Indian cities of New Delhi and Mumbai.Anadolu Agency
Major blow to Indian IT firms in US: Donald Trump’s planned H-1B visa rule changes to hurt Indians
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/major-blow-to-indian-it-firms-in-us-donald-trumps-planned-h-1b-visa-rule-changes-to-hurt-indians/1353179/
Washington :Trump administration has said it is planning to “revise” the definition of employment and specialty occupations under the H-1B visas, a move which will have a detrimental impact on Indian IT companies and small and medium-sized contractual firms mostly owned by Indian-Americans. The H-1B visa, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said On Wednesday that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to come out with its new proposal by Jan, 2019.It will “propose to revise the definition of specialty occupation” to increase focus on obtaining the best and the brightest foreign nationals via the H-1B programme. It will also “revise the definition” of employment and employer-employee relationship to “better protect” US workers and wages, the DHS said. Such a move, which is part of the Unified Fall Agenda of the Trump administration, will have a detrimental impact on the functioning of Indian IT companies in the US and also small and medium-sized contractual companies in the IT sector, which are mostly owned by Indian-Americans.PTI
Urdu Newspapers Saw Bigger Cut in Ads Under Modi Regime: Study
http://caravandaily.com/portal/urdu-newspapers-saw-bigger-cut-in-ads-under-modi-regime-study/
New DelhiIn the last four and half years of the Modi Govt , critic papers like Indian Express have seen massive cuts in Govt ads while RSS mouthpieces like Panchjanaya and Organizer have witnessed a phenomenal rise in their ad spend share, says an investigative story of Cobrapost.com. Language-wise, however, Urdu papers are at the biggest loss under the current BJP Govt at the centre. As per the study, 54% Urdu papers have seen cut in their ad share by almost 50% over the past 3 years. This may be because of discrimination along communal lines.The study has also found that papers with owners close to the ruling party have higher shares in advertising spend. It has specifically mentioned RSS mouthpieces like Panchjanaya and Organizer that, the study says, have witnessed a phenomenal rise in their ad spend share. Among papers in top 10 languages, Urdu papers have been the bigger victim of ad cut since BJP came to power at the centre.“Out of total 619 Urdu papers, 54% of the papers faced a cut in Govt ad spend share of more than 50% over three years after NDA Govt came to power. While across all languages, on average 42 % of the newspapers faced more than 50 % cut in ad spend share in the same period. At the same time, only 10 % of the Urdu newspapers saw an increase in advertising spend share of more than 50 percent, while on average 14 % of the newspapers saw an increase of more than 50 percent,” says the study.caravandaily
36 children rescued from unlicensed madrassa:TOI report
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/36-children-rescued-from-unlicensed-madrassa/articleshow/66269678.cms
Chennai: Child Welfare Committee members rescued 36 children from a madrassa in Vettuvankeni, housed in the facility though it had neither registration nor documents. The children, aged between 7 and 16 years, were reportedly brought to the madrassa from Bihar three months ago. All of them hailed from families suffering from abject poverty. The families sent the children after a Maulvi visited their houses and promised to take full charge of their children's education in Chennai. The man, whom officials of Kancheepuram Child Welfare Committee suspect could be an agent, is now absconding.The children have now been moved to a registered children's home in Karapakkam and process is under way to reunite them with their families. The committee has also lodged an FIR against madarassa director MH Ansar at the local police station. Following complaints about the madrassa from Childline, members from the CWC went to the home and found the children had been kept in cramped and unsanitary conditions. When Ansar was quizzed, he showed the officials letters written in Hindi, obtained from their families mentioning that they allowed their children to be educated at the Chennai facility. "But the madrassa lacks facilities required for a school or a child care home," said Zaheeruddin Mohamad, member of the committee. TOI
Ex- CM ND Tiwari dies on his 93rd birthday
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/former-up-and-uttarakhand-cm-nd-tiwari-dies-at-93/story-MPBkuVgfFVIs25TrJ5quGP.html
Former UP and Uttarakhand CM ND Tiwari dies in Delhi on Thursday. He was 93.He was admitted to the Max Super Speciality Hospital in Saket.
WORLD
Saudi transfers $100m to US State Dept .as Khashoggi crisis deepens
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-transfers-100m-state-department-khashoggi-crisis-deepens-675031111
When US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew into Riyadh to discuss the disappearance and likely death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia transferred $100m to the State Department for US efforts against the Islamic State (IS) group, the New York Times reported. While the funding was approved earlier in the summer, critics have viewed the timing of the transfer payment with suspicion.“The timing of this is no coincidence,” a US official told NYT.US State Dept. envoy for the anti-IS coalition said in a statement on Wednesday that they “expected the contribution to be finalized in the fall time frame”.“The specific transfer of funds has been long in process and has nothing to do with other events or the secretary’s visit,” envoy Brett McGurk said. White House has not seemed alarmed amid a barrage of questions about Khashoggi's disappearance, what Saudi officials know about it and its close ties to Saudi rulers and the country's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in particular.US President Donald Trump has called for people to give the Saudis the benefit of the doubt, stressing Washington's business and geopolitical interests in staying close to Riyadh.middleeasteye
Mounting evidence points to crown prince’s involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/crown-prince-under-scrutiny-in-journalists-disappearance-even-as-saudis-search-for-exculpatory-explanation/2018/10/17/8c0e19b2-d228-11e8-b2d2-f397227b43f0_story.html?utm_term=.6e9a294a8a91
Trump administration and the Saudi royal family are searching for a mutually agreeable explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi— one that will avoid implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is among the president’s closest foreign allies, according to analysts and officials in multiple countries. But it will be difficult for the young ruler to escape scrutiny, as mounting evidence points not only to the Saudi Govt ’s knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate, but also to a connection by Mohammed to his disappearance.US intelligence reports, accounts from Khashoggi’s friends, passport records and social media profiles paint a picture of a brutal killing that at least had its roots in Mohammed’s desire to silence Khashoggi, a former palace insider turned critic of Govt and the prince in particular.The analysts and officials said it was inconceivable that such a brazen operation as the one alleged by Turkish officials, involving a team of 15 agents sent to Istanbul,who then killed and dismembered Khashoggi, could have been pulled off by a group of “rogue killers,”as Trump speculated this week, moments after a phone call with Saudi’s King Salman. Even one of the president’s closest advisers, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said many senior members of the administration concluded more than a week ago that Saudis had killed Khashoggi. Washington Post
Saudi bars Palestinian refugees in Lebanon from visiting Mecca
https://www.middleeasteye.net/Saudi-Arabia-ban-visa-Palestinian-pilgrimage-Mecca-Madina
Saudi Arabia has stopped issuing pilgrimage visas for Palestinians in Lebanon who hold refugee travel documents, effectively barring tens of thousands of Palestinians from visiting Mecca and Medina, the two most important religious sites for Muslims, Middle East Eye can reveal.An official at Saudi consul's office in Beirut confirmed to MEE that following a decision by Saudi Foreign Ministry in Riyadh, they had informed tourism companies in Lebanon that no Hajj and Umrah visas would be issued to Palestinians on their refugee travel documents - a decision that became effective on 12 September."Palestinian refugees [in Lebanon] can now get visas on a Palestinian Authority passport," official said. "There are Palestinians who already applied for Umrah visas on their PA passports after the decision was made and they got visas to travel [to Saudi]. I do not have an exact number for them," the official added.Official said that Saudi Foreign Ministry had informed the occupied West Bank-based PA of its decision.It is not true that we will issue Palestinian passports for any refugee in Lebanon to get a visa for Umrah or any other sort of visa. Ashraf Dabbour, PA ambassador in Beirut told MEE that the embassy knew about the Saudi visa decision through unofficial channels by word of mouth from Palestinian local figures.But he denied that the PA would issue travel documents for refugees in Lebanon wishing to travel to Saudi.middleeasteye
Former Yemen allies furious as UAE assassination campaign exposed
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-islah-members-react-outrage-uae-mercenary-report-1628186504
Sanaa:Since 2015,al-Islah, Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and UAE have been fighting against Houthi rebels in an attempt to prop up the internationally recognised Govt of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.But on Tuesday,Buzzfeed revealed that Emiratis had hired a team of American and Israeli mercenaries to assassinate members of the Islahi leadership - enraging the influential party and exposing the UAE's presence in Yemen to fierce criticism.It has also placed Saudi Arabia, which leads an anti-Houthi coalition and is closely allied to both the Islahis and Emiratis, in a deeply uncomfortable position. "Although the announced aim of the Emirates in Yemen is to support the legitimate Govt , it fights legitimacy with all its might," Issa Qadhi, a member of al-Islah in Taiz, told MEE.Instead of prioritising the defeat of the Iran-allied Houthi rebels, Qadhi said, "UAE made the annihilation of the al-Islah party the first aim of its presence in Yemen"."UAE is willing to destroy the whole country and bring mercenaries from around the world to annihilate al-Islah," he added."UAE is cunning but God does not help the cunning to succeed."Abu Dhabi has long considered the Muslim Brotherhood an enemy, as has Saudi Arabia. However, Riyadh has decades-long ties with al-Islah, with the party an effective client throughout Ali Abdullah Saleh's 20-year rule of a united Yemen.middleeasteye
Elite American soldiers, intelligence operatives hired to assassinate targets in Yemen in 2015: report
https://www.foxnews.com/world/elite-american-soldiers-intelligence-operatives-hired-to-assassinate-targets-in-yemen-in-2015-report
Maldives opposition seeks to bar Prz from leaving country
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/maldives-opposition-seeks-bar-president-leaving-country-181017170357035.html
Opposition in Maldives asked the police to bar President Abdulla Yameen from leaving the country hours after he announced plans to step down in the face of a likely defeat in a court case challenging his election loss. Yameen, who presided over a five-year crackdown targeting opposition, media and rights activists, "must not be allowed to leave the country" without facing justice over allegations of corruption, opposition lawyer Hassan Latheef told reporters in the capital Male late on Wednesday."We are receiving credible reports Yameen may leave the country at any minute," the lawyer said outside police headquarters, urging the police to "stop Yameen's departure given ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption".Police could not be reached for comment immediately.Ibrahim Muaz Ali, spokesperson for Yameen, dismissed the opposition's claim, saying the president "will never flee and was ready to cooperate with any investigation", according to paper Mihaaru.aljazeera
Abbas meets with liberal Zionist lobby group J Street
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181018-abbas-meets-with-liberal-zionist-lobby-group-j-street/
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday met with the leadership of liberal Zionist advocacy group J Street at his HQRS in Ramallah, reported the Times of Israel.Abbas welcomed the delegation, led by J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben Ami, expressing his “appreciation for their efforts to support the peace process within American society”, including the organisation’s letter to the White House urging a reversal of decision to end funding for UNRWA.“We distinguish between America and the current American administration that has brought the peace process to a dead end,” Abbas told the group.The meeting was attended by PLO Executive Committee members Ziad Abu Amr and Ahmad Majdalani, PA General Intelligence Services chief Majid Faraj, Fatah Central Committee member Hussein Al-Sheikh and Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasma, according to reports.MEMO
HRW: Syria regime preventing return of displaced refugees
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181018-hrw-syria-regime-preventing-return-of-displaced-refugees/
Human Rights Watch has said that Syrian regime is preventing internally displaced people in areas which were previously held by opposition forces from returning to their homes and properties.The organisation quoted a resident of Qaboun town; a formerly opposition-held area as saying that Govt forces were demolishing their properties without warning and without providing them with alternative housing or shelter.The rights watchdog said it has analysed satellite images over Qaboun neighbourhoods which showed extensive demolitions that began in May 2017 after the fighting ended there. Deputy Middle East Director at HRW Lama Faqih said:“Russia and Syria are calling on people to return to attract reconstruction funding, but as always with the Syrian Govt, reality is much different.”middleeastmonitor
ICC warns Israel: Destroying Khan Al-Ahmar could be ‘war crime’
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181018-icc-warns-israel-destroying-khan-al-ahmar-could-be-war-crime/
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda yesterday warned Israel against demolishing the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan Al-Ahmar and displacing its residents saying the action could constitute a “war crime”.“Extensive destruction of property without military necessity and population transfers in an occupied territory constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute,” Bensouda said in a statement.“I continue to keep a close eye on the developments on the ground and will not hesitate to take any appropriate action,” she added. Meanwhile, clashes broke out on Wednesday between dozens of Palestinian youth and foreign solidarity activists in the village of Al-Khan Al-Ahmar and the Israeli army forces who stormed the village.MEMO
Study: Polluted water main cause of death in Gaza
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181017-study-polluted-water-main-cause-of-death-in-gaza/
More than a quarter of illnesses in Gaza are caused by water pollution, a new study has said, noting that this is the main cause of mortality in the coastal enclave that has endured an Israeli siege since 2007.The study, which the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a copy of, was carried out by RAND Corporation, an American NGO. It said that it reached these findings four years ago and that “since that time these numbers have continued to grow”. Based on the report, Haaretz said that the collapse of water infrastructure has led to a sharp rise in germs and viruses such as rotavirus, cholera and salmonella.Report said the situation is worsening due to repeated Israeli operations in Gaza which started in 2008.MEMO
Chief of Israel army meets Saudi, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan counterparts
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181018-chief-of-israel-army-meets-saudi-bahrain-egypt-jordan-counterparts/
Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot has met with his counterparts from several Arab countries during the Counter–Violent Extremist Organisations conference held in Washington, Quds Press reported. According to Israel’s KAN public TV, Eisenkot met with Saudi Arabia’s Chief of Staff General Fayyad Bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili on the sidelines of the conference yesterday.They discussed the “common Iranian threat”, KAN reported and said that they came out with a “conformed Saudi-Israeli vision about how to deal and confront the Iranian threat.”Meanwhile, Quds Press reported KAN saying Eisenkot appeared, in a photo from the dinner held during the conference, sitting on the same table with the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Mohamed Farid, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Jordan Mahmoud Abdul Halim Freihat and the Chief of Staff of Bahrain Dhiab Bin Saqr Al Nuaimi.middleeastmonitor
Report:Iraq’s Shia militias partnering with IS militants
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181017-report-iraqs-shia-militias-partnering-with-daesh-militants/
Iraqi Shia militia is absorbing former Daesh fighters into their ranks, US magazine Foreign Policy has claimed, citing interviews with several Iraqi Govt officials and activists. Popular Mobilisation Force(PMF), exclusively Shia faction that played a significant role in the 3-year war against the Islamic State militants, has reportedly started to join forces with some of their former opponents, in an effort to expand their influence into Sunni-majority areas previously held by Daesh. Considered by many as an Iranian proxy, PMF militias constitute a major force, with a coalition of allied groups known as Fatah Alliance, securing 48 seats in 320-seat Iraqi parliament earlier this year. PMF won an official recognition as a national force late 2016, coming under the command of PM , who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.In an attempt to expand further, the PMF has looked to broaden its recruits.Badr Organisation, one of the largest militias is believed to have recruited some 30 ex-Daesh fighters in the town of Jalula alone, while Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, one of the most extreme PMF factions has initiated 40 members from the same area, a disputed region between the Iraqi Govt and Kurdish forces.For ex-Daesh militants, the opportunity to work within the PMF allows many to return to their hometowns from which they had been ousted. Many locals had also joined the so-called Islamic State for financial reasons after post-war chaos in Iraq failed to provide them with stable jobs. When Daesh was subsequently defeated, many turned to the PMF for employment, being unable to otherwise join official security forces or apply for other positions.However, some senior members of Daesh are also believed to have entered PMF’s ranks.According to Kurdish internal security forces, ex Daesh commander Mutashar Al-Turki, who led battle against the Peshmerga in 2014, is one such recruit.Some PMF factions have denied the existence of former Islamic State fighters in their battalions, with others admitting that whilst some had joined, they were dismissed after their links to Daesh became known. However other groups admitted that militants had been absorbed and changed their allegiances, with one citing Mutashar Al-Turki as an example of a “good man” who was now charged with securing town of Tawuq against other militants.MEMO
UN Syria envoy to step down next month
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181017-un-syria-envoy-to-step-down-next-month/
United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura told the Security Council today that he plans to step down at the end of November for personal reasons after more than four years in the role.He is the third person to fill the job during the more than seven-year Syrian conflict. His predecessors – ex UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi – both quit frustrated by global deadlock over how to end the Syrian war.De Mistura is a veteran Italian-Swedish diplomat who has had a 40-year career with the UN, including a number of high-profile roles. Latterly he also served as Italy’s deputy foreign minister.MEMO
School in Russian-annexed Crimea hit by deadly attack
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/school-russian-annexed-crimea-hit-deadly-blast-181017121717120.html
A student has attacked a vocational college in the Russian-annexed peninsula, Crimea, killing at least 19 people before killing himself, according to authorities. Russia's Investigative Committee said CCTV footage showed 18-year-old student Vladislav Roslyakov entering Kerch Polytechnic College with a rifle on Wednesday and firing at students.Sergei Astrankin, the director of emergency medicine for Crimea, was cited by Russian state television as saying the death toll stood at 19, excluding the killer.The incident in Kerch, a city of 147,000 people, was initially reported as a gas explosion and a possible "terrorist" attack. But the committee later said it was a case of mass murder.Dozens of people were also injured in the attack. aljazeera
Facebook 'Portal' video chat speaker to share your data with advertisers: Report
http://www.indiatomorrow.net/eng/facebook-portal-video-chat-speaker-to-share-your-data-with-advertisers-report?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=emailemail&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Indiatomorrownet+%28IndiaTomorrow.net%29
In yet another controversy surrounding Facebook and its users' privacy, reports surfaced, saying that Facebook's smart video chat speaker "Portal" will share data about your calls and apps you use to advertisers on other platforms owned by the social media giant. According to a report in ReCode, Facebook that last week said that no data will be collected through Portal and shared for targeted advertising has now taken a U-turn. "Portal voice calling is built on the Messenger infrastructure, so when you make a video call on Portal, we collect the same types of information (i.e. usage data such as length of calls, frequency of calls) that we collect on other Messenger-enabled devices," a company spokesperson was quoted as saying. IANS
FLASH VIEWS & NEWS
Jamal Khashoggi: What Arab world needs most is free expression: Jamal Khashoggi, washington post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/opinions/global-opinions/jamal-khashoggi-what-the-arab-world-needs-most-is-free-expression/2018/10/17/adfc8c44-d21d-11e8-8c22-fa2ef74bd6d6_story.html
Khashoggi case: Is Saudi-Turkish investigation a mere formality?Linah Alsaafin
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/khashoggi-case-saudi-turkish-investigation-mere-formality-181018053308558.html
India's NRC is a Global Clarion Call for Understanding Identity Politics:Prithvi Hirani and Mathew D. Rees
https://thewire.in/rights/indias-national-register-of-citizens-is-a-global-clarion-call
Exclusive for Cobrapost: Govt Curtails Ads to Curtail Press Freedom
https://www.cobrapost.com/blog/cobrapos-tGovt -curtails-press%20freedom/1298
Central university teachers may now be dismissed for speaking against govt : UGC Order: Logical Indian Crew
https://thelogicalindian.com/news/teachers-can-not-criticise-Govt /
State vandalism:Renaming of Allahabad is an act of erasure of history and memory. It speaks of an exclusionary politics: Editorial, indianexpress
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/allahabad-prayagraj-adityanath-renaming-uttar-pradesh-5405273/
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 5:17 PM)
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