INDIA-NEWS

Riots conspiracy case: Delhi govt gives nod to prosecute Umar Khalid, others under UAPA

Police have received prosecution sanction from the Delhi government against Umar Khalid, a former JNU student leader, in connection with a case related to the communal violence in Delhi, officials said on Friday.“We have given prosecution sanction in all the Delhi riots related cases registered by the police. Now, it is up to the courts to see who are the accused,” a senior Delhi government functionary said.The sanction has been received against Khalid in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, in which he was booked under the stringent anti-terror UAPA.A senior police officer said that police have received prosecution sanction from both the Delhi government and the Union Home Ministry against Khalid in connection with Delhi riots conspiracy case.PTI

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-riots-consipracy-case-aap-govt-gives-nod-to-prosecute-umar-khalid-under-uapa-6979437/

 

Delhi HC Puts on Hold Tahir Hussain's Disqualification as Councillor

Delhi high court on Friday stayed the EDMC decision to disqualify suspended AAP leader Tahir Hussain – arrested in connection with a case related to north-east Delhi riots – as councillor of the municipal body.Justice Najmi Waziri put on hold the East Delhi Municipal Corporation’s decision on Hussain’s plea challenging it.The court also issued notice to the corporation, represented by its standing counsel Gaurang Kanth, and sought its stand on the petition by March next year.Advocate Rizwan, appearing for Hussain, confirmed that the court stayed the EDMC decision.PTI

https://thewire.in/law/delhi-hc-puts-on-hold-tahir-hussains-disqualification-as-councillor

 

Delhi riots: Court stays order directing lodging of FIR on alleged murder of women

A Delhi court Friday stayed, till next date of hearing, an order directing the police to register an FIR on a complaint filed by a man who claimed to have witnessed burqa-clad women being killed during the riots in north east northeast Delhi.A magistrate court had on October 26 said police cannot refuse to lodge the case for investigating the allegations of complainant Nisar Ahmed on the grounds that the complaint has been allegedly clubbed with some other case.Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav issued notice to Ahmed on the revision petition filed by the police against the magistrate court's order.The court stayed the magistrate court's order till November 19, the next date of hearing.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/nov/06/delhi-riots-court-stays-order-directing-lodging-of-fir-on-alleged-murder-of-women-2220290.html

 

Posters of Anti-CAA Protestors Put Up Again in Lucknow, Rs 5,000 Reward Announced

Posters with pictures of 12 people who allegedly took part in a violent protest against the citizenship law last year and are absconding have cropped up again here, police said on Thursday. The posters come up months after the local administration had put up hoardings with pictures of some protesters for realising the damages for vandalism, leading to a major controversy.The two new separate posters also mention a reward Rs 5,000 for giving information about the agitators. A police spokesperson said the posters with photographs had been put up at public places in the Uttar Pradesh capital. One of the posters carry pictures and addresses of eight people who were booked under the Gangsters Act and have been declared absconders. The other has pictures of those who are absconding, but action under the act has not been initiated, the official said.] According to police, all these people had participated in a protest against the contentious CAA in Lucknow on December 19 and instigated violence, in which a person was killed and public property was damaged.

https://www.news18.com/news/india/posters-of-anti-caa-protestors-put-up-again-in-lucknow-rs-5000-reward-announced-3047516.html

 

SC Protects Arnab Goswami From Arrest in Maharashtra Assembly Breach of Privilege Case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued show cause notice to an assistant secretary of Maharashtra legislative assembly asking him to explain why contempt proceedings should be not initiated against him for his letter to journalist Arnab Goswami which seems to “intimidate” him for approaching the apex court on the issue of alleged breach of privilege motion.The apex court also directed that Goswami shall not be arrested in pursuance of the proceedings pending in Maharashtra assembly for alleged breach of privilege motion.The top court, which termed the statements of the official in an October 13 letter sent to Goswami as unprecedented, said it tends to interfere in the course of administration of justice and is definitely a “serious matter” and “amounts to contempt”.It said the letter seems to have been written to threaten Republic TV editor-in-chief with a penalty for seeking legal remedy which he exercised as a fundamental right under Article 32 of the Constitution.“We don’t see that any authority in the country can penalise anybody for coming to this court. What is Article 32 meant for? How can this officer say so? I have never seen a letter like this,” said Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, who was heading the bench also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian.PTI

https://thewire.in/law/arnab-goswami-supreme-court-maharashtra-assembly

 

 

 

 

Tablighi Jamaat: Court allows deportation of 8 foreigners discharged of all charges

A Delhi court Friday allowed the deportation of eight foreigners, discharged of charges of being negligent and attending Tablighi Jamaat congregation here in March this year in violation of the government guidelines issued in wake of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav allowed the foreigners' plea seeking deportation to their countries and imposed certain conditions on them.The court directed IO to facilitate expeditious closure of Lookout Circulars (LoC) against them.It said if the pending revision petition filed by the police against the foreigners was allowed by the court, then they would have to come back to India to join the proceedings.It further directed them to deposit a surety amount of Rs 30,000 to the court and furnish their name, phone number, e-mail address and address to the investigating officer before leaving the country.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/nov/06/tablighi-jamaat-court-allows-deportation-of-8-foreigners-discharged-of-all-charges-2220208.html

 

CIC Allows Centre to Withhold List of Documents, Items Seized During Operation Blue Star

New Delhi: Central Information Commission (CIC) has allowed the Centre to withhold a list of documents and precious material seized by a central agency during the 1984 operation at the Golden Temple in Punjab in which 576 persons, including Army personnel, were killed.An RTI applicant, Gurvinder Singh Chadha, had demanded from the Union Home Ministry list of all the material seized during the operation and its present status as well as all records related to operation and list of all the persons who died during the operation conducted by the Army to flush out militants holed up inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.Without giving the list and the specific details of the seized material, the ministry had said in its RTI response to Chadha that “about 4000 documents/books/files and gold /gold ornaments, silver/silver ornaments, precious stones currency, coins etc. were recovered by a central agency during the Operation Blue Star. The articles and documents were handed over either to SGPC or to the Government of Punjab.

https://thewire.in/government/cic-allows-centre-to-withhold-docu-list-precious-items-seized-during-operation-blue-star

 

 

‘Dangewala CM’: RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui rakes up 2002 Gujarat riots to attack PM Modi

Patna: A day before the third and final phase of Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2020, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s senior leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui triggered a row when he addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “dangewala CM”. Speaking while campaigning for the party, Siddiqui who is also the chairman of Public Accounts Committee of Govt of Bihar and vice president of the Badminton Association of India, compared PM Modi to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.“PM Modi has not maintained the sanctity of the post. The party (BJP) had stalwarts like Atal Bihari Vajpayee who understood the culture of Bihar. That is why the minority, who are being targeted today, had respect for Atal ji. But Modi doesn't think he is the PM of the nation; he still thinks he is that Gujarat Dangewala CM,” Siddiqui said.RJD leader made the jibe in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots, which happened during the term of Narendra Modi as state chief minister in his first term.

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/bihar/article/dangewala-cm-rjd-leader-abdul-bari-siddiqui-rakes-up-2002-gujarat-riots-to-attack-pm-modi-ahead-of-bihar-polls-final-phase/678254

 

 

 

Owaisi's goodwill or winnability of Mahagathbandhan: Muslim votes hold key in Bihar's Seemanchal region

KATIHAR: The goodwill AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi enjoys among a large section of Muslims in Seemanchal, a region his party has focussed on in the Bihar assembly polls, appears unmistakable and many of them express their disaffection with the Congress for not speaking more strongly on issues like the contentious CAA. However, as the region with the state's highest concentration of Muslims readies for polls on Nov.7 in the last phase of the elections, it is RJD-Congress-Left alliance that draws considerable support from the community amid sporadic voices in Owaisi's support as they weigh their choices.If there is certain unhappiness among them with the opposition alliance, there also seems to be a realisation that it remains their best bet."The local Congress MLA declined to come to our protests against the CAA, fearing it may not be received well by Hindus. Many local leaders, including Pappu Yadav, backed us. Owaisi has been vocal too. But we are expected to cast our votes silently and not complain," Nasim Akhtar, sarpanch of south Simaria panchayat in Katihar, laments.PTI

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/nov/05/asaduddin-owaisis-goodwill-or-winnability-of-mahagathbandhan-muslim-votes-hold-key-in-seemanchal-2219775.html

 

Row over Krishna's birthplace: Priests' body to become party to Mathura temple-mosque case

MATHURA:A body of priests on Friday decided to become a party to the case under which a plea has been filed for the removal of a 17th-century mosque from near the birthplace of Krishna here.Akhil Bharatiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha had earlier condemned the petition for the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque, built within the 13.37-acre premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.The organisation had said "some outsiders" are trying to disturb the peace and harmony of Mathura by raising a frivolous temple-mosque issue.The senior national general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha, Srikant Vashishta, on Friday said the body decided to become a party to the case at a virtual meeting attended by 50 members of its national executive.He said organisation's president Mahesh Pathak and vice-president Navin Nagar have been authorised to represent the body in the case.PTI

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/nov/06/row-over-lord-krishnas-birthplace-priests-body-to-become-party-to-mathura-temple-mosque-case-2220283.html

 

Letter claiming Karnataka DGP ordered removal of speakers from mosques is fake, say police

Bengaluru: A viral letter that claimed DGP and IG of Karnataka Police, Praveen Sood, had ordered the removal of loudspeakers from mosques is fake, police authorities confirmed.An unverified letter had been doing the rounds on social media and was shared by several pro-Hindu groups that purportedly stated that DGP called for “suitable action” to be taken on a petition filed by a local advocate Harsha Muthalik, who sought the removal of loudspeakers from mosques. The petition by Muthalik claimed that the loudspeakers disturbed people living near mosque and it was in the interest of society to remove them.However, a fact-check by the Karnataka Police Thursday noted that that viral letter had been “issued mischievously” without proper authorisation.

https://theprint.in/india/letter-claiming-karnataka-dgp-ordered-removal-of-speakers-from-mosques-is-fake-say-police/538352/

 

Hanuman Chalisa at mosque: BJP leader, maulvi made to sign Rs 5-lakh bond each

Baghpat: Police here have made a local BJP leader and a maulvi sign a bond to ensure there is no untoward incident following the recent recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa at a mosque.According to police, they are liable to pay Rs 5 lakh each if any untoward incident takes place.The maulvi has also been told by his community leaders to go home for a few days till the controversy dies down, according to police.On Tuesday, BJP’s district executive member Manupal Bansal had recited the Hanuman Chalisa at a mosque in Baghpat’s Vinaypur village and telecast it on social media. However, SHO said they got BJP leader Manupal Bansal and the cleric sign a bond of Rs 5 lakh each.Meanwhile, Manupal Bansal said reports of Ali Hasan’s removal from the mosque were wrong.

https://www.siasat.com/hanuman-chalisa-at-mosque-bjp-leader-maulvi-made-to-sign-rs-5-lakh-bond-each-2017000/

 

Clerics in Deoband fume as Muslim women observe Karva Chauth’:TOI

Muzaffarnagar: Scores of Muslim women including a few in Lucknow and Agra observed fast on Karva Chauth seeking health for their husbands, a gesture which has not gone down well with a section of clerics in Deoband, the seat of country’s largest Islamic seminary. They called the trend “un-Islamic”. One of the women, Gulnaz Anjum Khan of Lucknow, observed Karva Chauth according to Hindu customs on Wednesday. Gulnaz’s husband, Rashid Khan, supported her and said it will send out a good message. Gulnaz told media that some of her Muslim friends also observe the fast on the day every year. “People should celebrate all the festivals,” she said.The clerics disagreed. “Karva Chauth is not in Islam. And those who are adopting it have nothing to do with Islam,” said Mufti Asad Qasmi, a cleric in Deoband, Saharanpur.Another scholar of Islamic studies and patron of Jamiat Dawat Ul Muslimeen, Maulana Kari Ishaq Gora, said, “Every religion has its set of rules and regulations. Karva Chauth in not there in Islam.”

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/clerics-in-deoband-fume-as-muslim-women-observe-karva-chauth/articleshow/79086777.cms

 Mid-night blaze damages historic Pathar Masjid in Srinagar

 A midnight blaze damaged the historic Pathar Masjid in Nawabazar area of Srinagar partially, officials said on Friday morning. They said that the fire broke out in Pathar Masjid, which is a Mughal era stone masjid, located in Nawabazar area of Srinagar. An official told news agency KNO that in the fire, the pulpit of the masjid was fully damaged but since the masjid is built of stone, the fire didn’t cause much damage to the main structure.

http://risingkashmir.com/news/mid-night-blaze-damages-historic-pathar-masjid-in-srinagar-

 

Stan Swamy Files Plea for Straw, Sipper in Jail; NIA Seeks 20 Days to Reply

 NIA’s lawyers have sought a good 20 days time to file a reply to Father Stan Swamy’s application before a special court that he be allowed to use a straw and sipper in prison to drink water, as he cannot hold a glass because of Parkinson’s disease. 83-year-old Swamy, a Jesuit priest and a senior tribal rights’ activist working out of Jharkhand for decades, is lodged in Taloja Central Jail, after he was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case on October 8 from his residence in Ranchi. He was brought to Mumbai the next day and is currently admitted in the prison hospital. NIA made him an accused in the case but later did not seek his police custody, as a result of which he was remanded to judicial custody from October 9.

https://thewire.in/rights/stan-swamy-jail-nai-straw-sipper-parkinsons

 

India Looking at Bangladesh Violence Targeting Hindus 'Very Seriously': MEA

New Delhi: India has taken up with Bangladeshi authorities the issue of violence targeting Hindu families in Bangladesh’s Comilla district and the matter is being probed by the authorities there, Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.Some radical Islamists vandalised and set on fire houses of several Hindu families in Bangladesh’s Comilla district earlier this week over rumours about an alleged Facebook post slandering Islam.Asked about the incident at an online media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India’s High Commission and posts in Bangladesh are in close contact with local authorities in Bangladesh over the incident. “They have taken up this incident and we have been informed that Bangladesh authorities have looked at this incident very seriously and the law enforcement authorities there are investigating the outbreak of violence,” he said.PTI

https://thewire.in/south-asia/india-looking-at-bangladesh-violence-targeting-hindus-very-seriously-says-mea

 

CDS General Rawat: China Border Standoff Could Spark Larger Conflict

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Friday that a tense border standoff with Chinese forces in the western Himalayas could spark a larger conflict, even as senior commanders from both sides met near the frontline for their eighth round of talks.General Rawat said the situation was tense at the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in eastern Ladakh, where thousands of Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a months-long confrontation.“We will not accept any shifting of the Line of Actual Control,” General Rawat said in an online address. “In the overall security calculus, border confrontations, transgressions and unprovoked tactical military actions spiralling into a larger conflict cannot therefore be discounted,” he said.Brutal hand-to-hand combat in June left 20 Indian and an undisclosed number of Chinese soldiers dead, escalating tensions and triggering large deployments on the remote, desolate border area.

https://thewire.in/security/cds-general-rawat-says-china-border-standoff-could-spark-larger-conflict

 

Pak Army, ISI propagating false communal narrative to create social disharmony in India: CDS Rawat

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has 06 said that Pakistan Army and its intelligence agency ISI are propagating false communal narrative to create social disharmony within India. “Pakistan has continued to remain the epicentre of armed Islamic insurgency & terrorism. For three decades now, Pakistan army and its intelligence agency ISI have been waging a proxy war in J&K have now increasingly resorting to non-kinetic means by launching vicious anti-India rhetoric on social media and propagating false communal narrative to create social disharmony within India,” said Rawat.

https://www.dnaindia.com/india/video-pak-army-isi-propagating-false-communal-narrative-to-create-social-disharmony-in-india-cds-rawat-2854804

 

Muslim outfit conducts anti-Macron protest

Coimbatore: Members of India Thowheed Jamaath (INTJ) on Friday staged a protest at Athupalam here against the French government and President Emmanuel Macron.The protesters stood on the photos of Macron and condemned him for insulting Prophet Muhammad. They also raised slogans against the French government.Under Macron’s leadership, there has been an increase in the number of hate campaigns against Islam and the Prophet, INTJ president Bakkar told the protesters.“French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo had published a cartoon to dishonour the Prophet in 2015. Several nations, including Islamic countries, condemned the magazine and the French government for the hate campaign against Islam. In the name of freedom of expression, French teacher Samuel Paty showed the caricature of the Prophet to students. INTJ condemns the incident,” a press release said. INTJ condemned Macron for saying that France will not give up the cartoons on the Prophet.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/muslim-outfit-conducts-anti-macron-protest/articleshow/79089629.cms

 

MP: Muslim shopkeeper in Dewas threatened for selling firecrackers with an image of God, goddess

A Muslim shopkeeper in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh have been threatened for stocking and selling firecrackers named after Hindu gods and goddesses.Videos of men, some of them wearing saffron gamcha, are seen threatening shopkeeper of dire consequences if he is caught selling any firecracker with the package of images of god and goddess.The owner of the shop claims that the crackers were packed way before and they have no control over it. He, scared of the threats and consequences, pleads the men not to be angry and promises to do as they say. In one video, the thug gang is seen warning the Muslim shopkeeper, saying, “If we find even one Lakshmi bomb or Ganesh bomb being sold from the shop, things may take a bad turn.”Congress senior leader Digvijaya Singh also re-tweeted one video of the incident, where the gang of men, with a saffron scarf around their neck, is seen arguing with an elderly shopkeeper and warning to burn his shop if he sells any such firecracker.

https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/madhya-pradesh-muslim-men-in-dewas-threatened-for-selling-firecrackers-with-an-image-of-god-goddess

 

 

Salaries not paid for months, Delhi Waqf Board employees go on strike

50 employees of the Delhi Waqf Board began an indefinite strike outside the board’s office in Darya Ganj Thursday over non-payment of salaries, while another 100 employees are on a pen down strike.Mona (34), who was among the protesters, hasn’t received her salary of Rs 28,000 for nine months. A single mother of two children, she works in the dak and dispatch section. “I took up the job after my husband died last year. I have had to borrow money to pay the children’s fees. I am running out of savings… I don’t know how to run the house like this…,” she said.Even though 150 employees of the Board have not received salaries, only 50 are on strike in order to maintain social distance. While around 45 permanent employees have not received salaries for 5 months, the remaining who are on contract have not been paid since Feb. The salaries range from Rs 18,000-Rs 28,000 for temporary employees.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/salaries-not-paid-for-months-delhi-waqf-board-employees-go-on-strike-6968550/

 

CORONA

 

OIC condemns cremation of COVID-19 infected Muslim remains in Sri Lanka

JEDDAH: The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed its deep concerns over multiple reports indicating that the Sri Lankan government is cremating all people who die in the COVID-19 pandemic. This effectively bans burials, a practice followed by many religious minorities, including Muslims.The issue has been raised by many human rights organizations, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief urged the government to respect burial rights of its Muslim minority.World Health Organization’s advice on governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic does not prescribe cremation as being in any way recommended. Hence, there is no reasonable justification to enforce cremation. Accordingly, IPHRC urges Sri Lankan government to fulfill its human rights obligations by respecting the right of its Muslim minority to practice their religion free from any discrimination, including the uncompromised right to honor the dignity of their dead in line with their religious beliefs and obligations.RAHNUMA

https://www.therahnuma.com/oic-condemns-cremation-of-covid-19-infected-muslim-remains-in-sri-lanka/

 WORLD

 US polls: Biden predicts victory as he leads over Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has once again urged people in the United States to remain patient and calm, as ballot-counting continues in a handful of states that hold the key to the White House. In an address from Wilmington, Delaware late Friday evening, Biden said “We do not have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers are clear we will win this race.Despite that, Biden appears confident the final numbers will be in his favour.“We’re going to be the first Democrats to win in Arizona in 24 years. We’re going to be the first democrats to win Georgia in 28 years,” he said.He said he wanted all ballots to be counted.Biden is currently projected to win 264 Electoral College votes, according to AP, compared with 214 electoral votes for Trump. To take the presidency, a candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes. Biden has a clearer, easier path towards victory at this point than Trump does.“We are on track to over 300 Electoral College votes,” Biden said, in his brief address. He said he and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris were not just waiting for vote results, but were meeting with health and economic experts, and have a plan to handle the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout for when they take office.Trump addressed the nation on Thursday from the White House, where he repeated baseless claims that widespread voter fraud has taken place in the election.On Friday, Trump – who falsely claimed he had won the election in the early hours of Wednesday – tweeted that Biden “should not wrongfully claim the office of the president” because legal proceedings were just beginning.Biden said he hoped he would address the nation again on Saturday.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/7/as-lead-grows-biden

 

Increasingly normal: Guns seen outside vote-counting centres

The most turbulent and norm-breaking presidential election of a lifetime has led to an extraordinary spectacle in the United States over the past three days: Armed protesters gathering nightly outside offices where local workers are counting the votes that will decide who wins the White House.Some carry shotguns. Some have handguns. Often, they carry black, military-style semi-automatic rifles.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/7/increasingly-normal-guns-seen-outside-vote-counting-centres

 

CNN has not yet projected a winner in the presidential race. Here's why.

It's four days after Election Day, and CNN has not yet projected who will win. Here's how CNN projections work: There's a team of dedicated statistical analysts that helps decide when CNN can make a call on election results, CNN's political director David Chalian explains. "All they do is, every single time vote comes in from one of these states, they plug it into their models and their formulas, trying to ascertain a very high level of confidence," in the results so that whoever is the number two person in these contests doesn't have a real possibility to overtake the number one person, Chalian said. The reason why CNN is not projecting the results in states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona, "it's because of the math and getting to the highest level of confidence before any projection is made," Chalian added.

https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-biden-election-results-11-07-20/index.html

 

Iran: Rouhani urges next US gov’t to ‘return to commitments’

Tehran: As Joe Biden increasingly seems closer to victory in US presidential elections, President Hassan Rouhani has called on the next US administration to restart fulfilling commitments under the Iran nuclear deal.In a televised speech on Saturday, Rouhani said the Iranian people have faced “economic terrorism” for the past three years and have shown admirable resistance.“Our country’s decision has always been clear and our nation will continue its resistance and patience under any circumstances until the other side bows down to law,” he said.The president said he hopes those who sanctioned Iran will come to the conclusion their methods have been wrong and will bear no results.“We hope that the experience of these three years has been a lesson to them that will make the next US administration follow the law and return to all its commitments,” Rouhani said.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/7/rouhani-urges-next-us-administration-to-return-to-commitments

 

UAE announces relaxing of Islamic laws for personal freedoms; Allowing alcohol

UAE announced on Saturday a major overhaul of the country’s Islamic personal laws, allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosening alcohol restrictions, and criminalising so-called “honour killings”.The government said the legal reforms were part of efforts to improve legislation and the investment climate in the country, as well as to consolidate “tolerance principles”.The broadening of personal freedoms reflects the changing profile of a country that has sought to bill itself as a skyscraper-studded destination for Western tourists, fortune-seekers and businesses despite its legal system based on a hardline interpretation of Islamic law.The changes also reflect the efforts of the Emirates’ rulers to keep pace with a rapidly changing society at home.The announcement also follows an historic US-brokered deal to normalise relations between UAE and Israel, which is expected to bring an influx of Israeli tourists and investment.Changes include scrapping penalties for alcohol consumption, sales and possession for those 21 and over. The legal reforms were announced on state-run WAM news agency and detailed in the state-linked newspaper, The National.Previously, individuals needed a liquor license to purchase, transport or have alcohol in their homes. The new rule would apparently allow Muslims who have been barred from obtaining licenses to drink alcoholic beverages freely.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/7/uae-announces-relaxing-of-islamic-laws-for-personal-freedoms

 

Ethiopian MPs back plan to replace Tigray government

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed vowed further air strikes after jets bombed the northern Tigray region amid reports that Tigrayan forces had seized control of federal military sites and weapons.“Our operation aims to end the impunity that has prevailed for far too long and hold accountable individuals and groups under the laws of the land,” Abiy said on Twitter on Saturday.Abiy said on Friday that air strikes had already neutralised “rockets that can hit a range of 300km (186 miles) from where they are stationed in Mekele City and other places in the vicinity”, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/7/ethiopian-mps-back-plan-to-replace-tigray-government

 

Transgender in Bangladesh: First school opens for trans students: BBC

Bangladesh's first religious school for transgender people has opened in Dhaka.More than 150 students will study Islamic and vocational subjects free of charge at the privately-funded seminary, or madrassa, in the capital.Many in the transgender community identify as a third gender which is now officially recognised in the country.They have the right to vote and to stand for election, but conservative social attitudes still make it hard for them to access jobs and education.Some migrate to cities and support themselves by singing and dancing at weddings and births, by begging or through sex work.Members of the trans community have traditionally made a living by dancing at weddings and birth, by begging or through sex work.The government says Bangladesh has about 10,000 hijras, as transgender people are known in South Asia. Other estimates put the number at more than 50,000.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54838305

 

 

Pakistan allows thousands to attend Tableeghi Jamaat congregation amid Covid-19

Facing intense pressure from religious leaders, the Pakistan government has allowed thousands of Tableeghi Jamaat members to hold a three-day gathering in Lahore starting from Friday despite an uptick in the number of new coronavirus cases. “The government has allowed the Tableeghi Jamaat to hold annual religious congregation in Raiwind with the participation of 54,000 followers”, said a handout issued by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government here on Thursday.It added that the three-day congregation will start on Friday and attendees have started to arrive from across the country. However, no one from outside the country is allowed to participate in the religious gathering, the statement read.PTI

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/thousands-attend-tableeghi-jamaat-congregation-karachi-uptick-cases-6962982/

 

Austria closes mosque frequented by Vienna attack suspect

Austria has closed a mosque and an Islamic association frequented by a man who shot four people dead in a rampage through Vienna on Monday, Integration Minister Susanne Raab told a news conference on November 6.She said the two sites had contributed to the attacker's radicalisation.Reuters

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/austria-closes-mosque-frequented-by-vienna-attacker-6079861.html

 

Athens' first mosque in nearly 200 years opens for Friday prayers

ATHENS:After years of delays caused by red tape, cutbacks and opposition from religious and political factions, the first government-funded mosque in Athens since 1833 opened its doors to worshippers on Friday.Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from countries including Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh live in Athens but the city has not had a formal mosque since it forced occupying Ottomans to leave nearly 200 years ago.Plans to build a mosque in Athens began in 1890 but it took decades for them to materialise due to opposition from a predominantly Christian Orthodox population and nationalists, sluggish bureaucracy but most recently a decade-long financial crisis.Reuters

https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-religion-mosque-idUKKBN27M2HU

 

Egypt sentences dozens to jail over 2013 sit-in to protests against overthrow of Morsi govt

CAIRO:A court in Egypt sentenced 59 people to 15 years in prison on Thursday for their role in organising and participating in a 2013 sit-in that ended with security forces killing hundreds of protesters, a judicial source said.7 defendants were sentenced to five years in prison, while 29 were acquitted.The sit-in continued for weeks at Rabaa al-Adawiya square in Cairo to protest against the overthrow of former president Mursi of Muslim Brotherhood, before being violently broken up by security forces. Those sentenced were accused of organising and participating in an armed gathering, among other charges. Rights groups have strongly criticised Egypt for convicting people for participating in the sit-in and for sentencing suspects in mass trials, including one case in which 75 people were sentenced to death and more than 600 handed jail sentences in 2018.Reuters

https://in.reuters.com/article/egypt-court/egypt-sentences-dozens-to-jail-over-2013-sit-in-idINKBN27L20T?il=0

 

OPINIONS-EDITORIALS-VIEWS

 

In Arnab Goswami’s daring arrest, the emergence of Uddhav 2.0:Shivam Vij 7

https://theprint.in/opinion/in-arnab-goswamis-daring-arrest-the-emergence-of-uddhav-2-0/538760/

 

I’m a Journalist, That’s Why I Don’t Stand With Arnab Goswami:Arfa Khanum Sherwani

https://thewire.in/media/arnab-goswami-arrest-free-speech

 

Trump may lose, but Trumpism has arrived in US – it’s more about populism, not performance:Shekhar Gupta

https://theprint.in/national-interest/trumpism-has-arrived-in-america-just-like-moditva-in-india/538829/

 

Macaulay's View of Western Superiority Still Holds Back the Indian Education System:Arghya Bhaskar

https://thewire.in/education/lord-macaulay-superior-view-western-hold-back-indian-education-system

 

Will the Madhya Pradesh Bypolls Mark the Possible Decline and Fall of Jyotiraditya Scindia?Neeraj Mishra

https://thewire.in/politics/madhya-pradesh-bypolls-scindia-fall-decline

 Bihar Elections Phase 3: Don’t Reduce Muslim Votes To Mere Numbers:Aditya Menon

https://www.thequint.com/news/politics/bihar-elections-third-phase-muslim-votes-caa-rjd-owaisi-aimim-seemanchal

 

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