Evening NEWS DIGEST
24 Oct. 2016: 22 Muharram 1438: Vol: 8, No:19
Won't Debate Hindutva:
Supreme Court says it won't reconsider 1995 verdict defining Hindutva as 'way
of life'
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court said on Tuesday that it won't reconsider its 1995 judgment in which it
defined Hindutva a "a way of life and not a religion."The SC's
statement came on a plea filed by activist Teesta Setalvad who wanted the court
to reconsider that judgment even as five states head to the polls next year.
Her plea was to not only redefine Hindutva, but also to ban its use in
elections.Setalvad's plea also came in the context of the SC already examining
a politically explosive question arising out of a separate plea filed in 1990. That
question is - Will a religious leader's appeal to his followers to vote for a
particular political party amount to electoral malpractice under Section 123 of
the Representation of People Act. The SC said today it is not examining the
larger issue of whether Hindutva means Hindu religion, and whether the use of
Hindutva in elections is permissible. The 7-judge SC bench said it is examining
a nexus between religious leaders and candidates and its legality under Section
123 (3) of the Representation of People Act.The ambit of Section 123(3) of Representation
of People Act, provides for the disqualification of a candidate, if he, or any
one on his behalf, is found "promoting or attempting to promote feelings
of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on
grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language, for furtherance of the
prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the
election of any candidate".The 1990 plea the SC is considering is to do
with the Maharashtra assembly polls where Shiv Sena and BJP candidates
allegedly used two speeches by Bal Thackeray and Pramod Mahajan - both now
deceased - to seek votes in the name of Hindutva and the Hindu rashtra.
Petitions were filed against many winning candidates of Shiv Sena and BJP in
1990 and the Bombay HC disqualified them.On appeal, the SC reversed the
judgments in all but two cases. One was later dismissed but the other was kept
pending.TOI
Won't Debate Hindutva, Just
Don't Use It To Ask For Votes: Supreme Court
SC declines debate on 20-yr-old
verdict defining ‘Hindutva’
Will not examine Hindutva
or religion at this stage: Supreme Court
Yashwant Sinha meets
separatist leader Ali Shah Geelani over Kashmir unrest
Srinagar: A 5-member
delegation led by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday met separatist
leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at his residence in Srinagar — in a fresh bid at
breaking a logjam after more than three months of deadly unrest in Kashmir
Valley. The team, which includes former bureaucrat Wajahat Habibullah, who has
served in J&K, ex-Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, journalist Bharat Bhushan and
activist Sushobha Barve landed in Srinagar and straight away drove to Geelani’s
residence in Hyderpora. Geelani, who heads the hardline faction of separatist
Hurriyat Conference, agreed to meet and talk to the Sinha-led delegation. The
delegation members were seen entering the highly fortified house where Geelani
has been kept under detention for over three months.Sinha and his team members
are also expected to meet other separatist leaders, including moderate Hurriyat
head Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF leader Yaseen Malik.And after 2 months of
detention at a guest-house-turned-jail in Srinagar, the Mirwaiz is now under
house arrest at his upscale Nigeen residence. Malik has also been moved from
jail to a Srinagar hospital after his health deteriorated.Sinha confirmed to
IANS that he and other “people of goodwill” will try to “meet all” during their
visit to the valley that began on Tuesday. “We came here for humanity.Our motto
is to share the grievances and pain (of Kashmiri people). I hope the state of
unrest will be resolved soon,” Sinha said. Talking to reporters, ex-BJP
minister hinted that it was an independent initiative and that they were “not
here as a part of any delegation”.At least 92 persons were killed and over
12,000 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces. Police have
arrested over 7,000 suspected ring leaders of stone throwers. Some have been
let off. Sinha and his team are also expected to meet civil society and trade
groups including the Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA) and the Kashmir Centre for
Social and Developmental Studies.PTI
Separatist Geelani meets
group led by Yashwant Sinha over J&K deadlock
BJP distances itself from
Yashwant-led team’s meet with Syed Ali Shah Geelani
New Delhi:BJP Tuesday
distanced itself from the meeting between Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali
Shah Geelani and a delegation led by its leader Yashwant Sinha, saying the
party has nothing to do with it.“It is not a BJP delegation. BJP has nothing to
do with this,” its National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said. A five-member civil
society delegation led by the former Union Minister Tuesday met Geelani amid
continuing volatile situation in the valley.PTI
J&K to prosecute 9 men
for raising IS flag
Srinagar: In the first such
decision, the J&K govthas accorded sanction for prosecution of nine people
charged with raising an Islamic State (IS) flag in Srinagar two years ago. The
nine have been booked under the UAPA. “The govtis of the view that there is
sufficient material and evidence available against the accused persons for
their prosecution,” states a notification issued by the state’s Principal
Secretary (Home), R K Goyal. On Oct.17, 2014, a few unidentified youths had
raised the black flag of the IS at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid after the Friday
prayers. The police registered a case and said that their investigations
revealed that nine Srinagar residents were involved in the incident. Police
officials said the nine people to be prosecuted are not “motivated” by IS
ideology, and had raised the flags only to “hurt” the Central govtand “garner
international attention” towards Kashmir.
Ex-SIMI leader Saquib Nachan
gets bail in VHP man murder bid case
Thane:Ex-SIMI leader Saquib
Nachan, booked in an attempt to murder case in 2012, was granted bail by a
sessions court after Supreme Court directed it to dispose of his plea that he
should be released as prosecution had failed to file charge sheet against him
in stipulated time. Nachan was booked under various sections of IPC and Arms
Act for murder bid on VHP activist Manoj Raicha in Bhiwandi in August 2012. He
was subsequently booked under stringent MCOCA.In his order passed on Friday, judge
AS Bhaisare approved Nachan's release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and
surety of like amount. The judge also asked Nachan not to tamper with evidence
regarding the case and to visit the police station concerned every Monday
between 3 PM and 5 PM. He was also asked to surrender his passport before
court. Nachan, convicted in the 2003 Mulund train blasts case earlier this
year, was arrested in 2002 in connection with the murder of VHP leader Lalit
Jain at Bhiwandi in the district. However, he was acquitted in the case in 2006
for want of evidence. Seeking bail, Nachan's lawyer contended police had failed
to file the charge sheet in the Raicha case within mandatory 90 days. In 2012, Thane
special court had rejected prosecution's plea seeking more time to file charge
sheet in the case, following which police approached the Bombay High Court
which stayed the special court's order. Nachan then moved the Supreme Court
against the stay which earlier this month set aside the order of the high court
and directed the lower court to dispose of Nachan's application on merits.
"The special court had declined to extend the period sought by prosecution
to file charge sheet on Oct.30, 2012. Since there is no extension for
investigation and detention, the statutory period of 90 days expired on Nov.1,
2012. However, as no charge sheet was filed within stipulated time of 90 days,
the accused has acquired indefeasible right to be enlarged on bail,"
Nachan's counsel Baba Sheikh argued. PTI
Former SIMI chief Nachan released
on bail
PERSONAL LAW vs uniform
civil code
Triple talaq: Don’t tinker
with Shariat, Mayawati tells Modi govt
Lucknow:BSP supremo
Mayawati Tuesday criticised PM Narendra Modi over his stance on the issue of
triple talaq, saying he should not “force his opinion and decision” on the
believers of any particular religion by “following the RSS agenda”. Accusing
the BJP and the Centre of tinkering with issues related to Shariat, she said
such matters should be left to the Muslim community and not raked up with an
eye on the upcoming Assembly elections in some states for political gains.“BJP
and its central govtled by Narendra Modi has now started a new controversy over
Muslim personal law, triple talaq and common civil code before the Assembly
elections in some states to serve its petty politics. BSP strongly condemns
it,” Mayawati said in a statement.“ PM and central govt instead of interfering
in the issue of triple talaq should better leave it to the Muslim community to
form a common opinion,” she stressed. Modi had yesterday denounced the practice
of triple talaq among Muslims and deprecated attempts to politicise the issue.
BSP chief said it is not right for the PM to “force his opinion and decision on
the believers of any particular religion by following the RSS agenda”.“It is
not in national interest that BJP and PM indulge in petty politics in the
matters of Muslims and their Shariat, especially before the coming Assembly
polls in some states,” she added.PTI
Let Muslims alone decide on
triple talaq, RSS must not thrust its agenda: Mayawati
Congr supports Modi's
'progressive' remark on triple talaq
Bengaluru: Welcoming PM Narendra Modi's
renewed outreach on the issue of triple talaq in which he has asked people not
make it a Hindu-Muslim matter, a cautious Congress urged the govtto rope in the
concerned people whose sentiments might otherwise get affected by its
intervention. "Our party has issued a statement that any progressive
measure is welcome, but at the same time they should also seek the consent of
stakeholders, particularly those people who are going to be affected and those
people whose sentiments will be affected. They have to be taken into
confidence," Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told
ANI.ANI
Build trust before changing
any personal law: Congress
Modi making triple talaq poll
issue for polarisation: Owaisi
Shiv Sena urges Muslim leaders
to speak up on issue of Triple Talaq rationally
Muslim community must
seriously ponder over triple talaq: RSS backs Uniform Civil Code to discrimination
life
Hyderabad: RSS on Tuesday
expressed hope that Muslim women who have moved the court seeking abolition of
triple talaq would secure justice, even as it said it wants the community to
give a serious thought to the issue."Triple talaq issue is an internal
problem of Muslims and in this context the Muslim community should seriously
think over it. In the present era there should not be any kind of gender-based
discrimination. On talaq issue, women have gone to court and we expect they get
justice properly," RSS All India General Secretary Bhayyaji Joshi said."Muslim
community should also think and decide on it. We feel that there is a need that
the court should also give (its) views on this matter through human
perspective," he said on the concluding day of 3-day Executive Council
Meetings of RSS.On Uniform Civil Code, Joshi said, "We have been stressing
that to stop any kind of discrimination in personal life it should be done
through law without disturbing social fabric. Law Commission has sought opinion
on UCC and the Commission should consider the viewpoints (of public) and based
on it, the Commission has to spell out its opinion..that is what we feel.On UCC,
he said the issue had been debated for long and the RSS had taken a clear stand
that the law must stop any kind of discrimination. "There can be issues of
some traditions but if they are disturbing the cultural fabric of the society,
then the law must interfere and end it," he said."Reacting to another
query, on call for boycott of Chinese goods on social media, Joshi said, "Why
only Chinese? When the alternatives (of products) are available. But, there are
certain products for which alternatives are not there and we don't
say.""We have been saying that not only Chinese products but people
should purchase natural products made in India and that stand continues,"he
added.PTI / newskerala
Triple talaq an internal
Muslim issue: RSS
Triple talaq an internal
Muslim issue, but we oppose gender bias: RSS
Triple talaq is
unconstitutional, should end: Naidu
New Delhi:Union Minister M.
Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday advocated the abolition of ‘triple talaq’, saying it
was a form of gender discrimination and against constitutional principles.
“Gender discrimination must come to an end. We are a civilised society,we are a
democratic country; why should there be gender discrimination?Triple talaq is a
gender discrimination and against the principles of Constitution,” Union I&B
Minister told the media in New Delhi.“Why should those helpless women be
penalised for somebody else’s fault. That is why the BJP, the government, is
strongly in favour of ending the practice of triple talaq,” said Naidu.IANS
‘NDA govt. trying to
infringe upon rights of Muslims’
Vijayapura: SM Patil
Ganihar, Ahinda leader, has alleged that the NDA govtis trying to infringe upon
the religious rights of Muslims under the pretext of bringing in a uniform
civil code.He told presspersons here on Monday that Modi govt was trying to
create communal divide in the country by sparking off a controversy on the
issue. Ganihar said that by raising the controversial issue, the govt was
trying to implement one of its promises in the election manifesto.“Party had
made other promises too such as increasing employment opportunities. Why is it
not doing anything on such pro-people promises,” he asked. the hindu
Muslim women’s group slams
Centre on triple talaq saying will not tolerate any interference in Shariat
Bareilly: Muslim women
under the banner of All India Muslim Majlis staged a silent protest at Gandhi
Park here on Monday against NDA government, saying they would not tolerate any
interference in Shariat. They send a memorandum to the President. They said
they would follow the Hadith which has recommended that a wife must follow the
orders of her husband. In a related development, National Sunni Ulama Council
also criticised the Centre and said that triple talaq is valid.A report from
Pilibhit said a meeting was held by Muslim women, muftia and aalima who slammed
the Centre for trying to tamper with Islamic socio-religious doctrines
enshrined 1,400 years ago.In Bareilly, woman marched from Gandhi Park in Chouki
crossing to the collectorate. They presented a memorandum to the DM to be
forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee. The women claimed that Centre's stand
to oppose triple talaq before the Supreme Court was aimed at diverting public
attention from its failure. Through their letter to the President, the women
demanded that uniform civil code should not be enforced and Centre should be
asked to take back its affidavit demanding abolition of triple talaq.TOI
Rate of divorce among
Muslims less than other religions: Muslim women
oppose any reform in Muslim law
Lucknow: Opposing any
reform in the Muslim personal law, a group of women today said the ratio of
divorce among Muslims vis-Ã -vis its population is less than any other religious
community.Speaking during a conference organised by Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal,
they also backed the stand taken by All India Muslim Personal Law Board
(AIMPLB) in this regard. "Some women are trying to suggest through media
that all Muslim women want changes in personal laws but it is not so. Majority
of women in the community don't want any reform in the laws," Gazala
Afroz, principal of Convent School, Gonda, said. According to a statement,
another teacher Asia Bano, said, "Rate of divorce among Muslims is also on
the lower side as per the 2011 census.So, it is obvious that they (government)
are trying to attack personal laws (by) stoking a non-issue." Women also
urged community members to raise a voice against the Centre's affidavit which
said the practice of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims
needed a relook on grounds like gender equality and secularism.PTI
UCC, Triple Talaq &
Polygamy: Myths vs Facts: 5.7% Muslims and 20.4% Hindus are polygamous, 5.63
Muslims and 7.3 Hindus, per 1,000 women, are divorced/separated and in
Malegaon, a city with 5 lakh Muslims, only 0.10 % Muslims are polygamists
Under the pretext of
Uniform Civil Code, there is an attempt to humiliate India's Muslims:
Misbahuddin Mirza
4 cases Modi must look at
before talking about Muslim women & triple talaaq:Aditya Menon
OTHERS
As UP Election Nears, Jats
Call For Revenge Against BJP
Jats of Haryana and western
Uttar Pradesh are flexing their muscles to wreak vengeance against PM Narendra
Modi by campaigning against BJP in the 2017 state elections.They are motivated
by their anger against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, under whose
watch there was a crackdown on the Jat agitation for reservations, which had
spiraled out of control in February.Another reason for their anger is the death
of several pro-reservation protestors in the police firing and the police cases
registered against the community.Ajay Singh, the president of All India Jat Mahasabha,
said: “Jats of UP are dying for the date of elections to be announced so that
they can get back at the party which backs the Haryana government”.“They will
campaign against the BJP.This has been decided at the grassroots—it will become
a much more powerful movement as soon as election dates are announced,” he
said. out look
Jats of Haryana will
campaign against the BJP in UP
Samajwadi Party, family
united, says Mulayam
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party
chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday insisted that the "party and family
are united" but remained evasive on whether Shivpal Yadav will be
reinstated in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet. Amid a deep divide in the party and
the family, Mulayam, flanked by party's state unit chief Shivpal Yadav and
three other sacked ministers, addressed a press conference here where CM
Akhilesh was conspicuous by his absence.To send out a message, he said that SP
had come to power in 2012 because of him only and still Akhilesh was made the
chief minister. He however, ruled out becoming the chief minister with assembly
elections barely few months away."My entire life is devoted for the
welfare of the people and he will continue to work for them," he
added.Mulayam strongly defended party MP Amar Singh, who is being blamed by the
Akhilesh faction for the problems in the family, asking "why to drag him
in all this"?"My family and party are united. All workers are united.
There are some conspirators, who do not have any mass base," Mulayam told
a hurriedly convened press conferences."There is not 'matbhed'
(difference) or 'manbhed' (ill feelings) among our leaders," Yadav
said.Asked whether Shivpal and other sacked ministers would then be reinstated
in the Akhilesh cabinet, he said, "I leave this to CM.... You ask him why
he made them ministers and why he sacked them."Appearing cautious while
replying to a questions, Mulayam said, "I will not make any single
controversial statement. Whatever you may ask."PTI
No opposition to Akhilesh
as CM, says Mulayam
Mulayam ‘brokers truce’ between
Akhilesh and Shivpal, but how long will it last?
JNU student Najeeb still
missing; students meet LG
Ten days after Najeeb Ahmed
went missing under mysterious circumstances, hundreds of students from JNU,
joined by several other varsities, took out a protest march from Mandi House to
Jantar Mantar on Monday.Students from JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia, Ambedkar
University and AMU, along with Najeeb's family came up in arms against JNU
authorities for their 'insensitivity' in handling the missing student's case.A
delegation of students, led by JNU student union's president, Mohit Pandey, met
the Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and submitted a memorandum to him, seeking his
intervention in the case."Even after getting no trace regarding Najeeb's
whereabouts, the Delhi police have not done any interrogation to ascertain the
facts. We got to know that a SIT is formed but we want speedy action must be
taken in this very case and day to day development must be informed by the JNU
community. We want your intervention so that no dilly-dallying tactics could be
used by Delhi police," the memorandum read.Meanwhile, Delhi police doubled
the cash reward declared for giving information about Najeeb from Rs 50,000 to
1,00,000.DNA
Rs 1 lakh reward for
information on missing JNU student
God in every human, hence
also in Sai Baba: RSS
Hyderabad: After
Shankaracharya of Dwarka- Sharda Peeth Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati raked up a
controversy by opposing the worship of Sai Baba, RSS on Tuesday contended that
Hindu philosophy says there is God in every human being and hence also in Sai
Baba.PTI
Hindus should increase
their population: Giriraj Singh
Meerut:BJP leader and
Minister in the Narendra Modi govtGiriraj Singh on Sunday invoked the
controversial bogey of “decreasing Hindus population” and argued that Hindus
should think of increasing their population as it was declining. He also
emphasised the need for a law to control the population and said the decreasing
numbers of Hindus was a danger to the survival of democracy in the country. thehindu
I won’t be removed merely
because I’m Brahmin: Fadnavis
Mumbai:Maharashtra chief
minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday that BJP leadership would not drop
him “merely because I am Brahmin”. In an informal interaction with journalists days
ahead of his government’s completion of two years in office, Fadnavis— only the
second Brahmin CM of Maharashtra —said he did not think the Maratha caste
unrest in Maharashtra was directed personally at him.“I do not think Maratha
discontent has surfaced because I am a Brahmin. There are other larger and
deeper reasons,” Fadnavis said. First Brahmin chief minister of Maharashtra,
Shiv Sena’s Manohar Joshi in 1995-1999, was replaced by Maratha leader Narayan
Rane. Fadnavis said he would remain chief minister for the full 5 years of his
term unless he took wrong decisions or was considered “inefficient”. livemint.com
Gujarat Riot accused seeks
IPS Rahul Sharma's prosecution
Ahmedabad: In a fresh
development,Chetan Shah, an accused in Naroda Gam riot case, has submitted an
application in the designated SIT court seeking prosecution of former IPS
officer, Rahul Sharma, on grounds of destruction of evidence as he had not
submitted CDs containing call traffic details to competent authority. This is
the second time the accused are seeking Sharma's prosecution. The court has
sought a reply from the Supreme Court appointed SIT by Oct 27.TOI
SC asks RBI: 87 owe Rs
85000 crore, why not make their names public
New Delhi: Underlining that
87 persons owe more than Rs 85,000 crore to public sector banks (PSBs), the
Supreme Court said on Monday that the RBI should not work in the interest of
the banks but in the interest of the country which calls for disclosing the
names of the biggest defaulters. After going through a list of defaulters
submitted in a sealed cover envelope by the RBI, a bench led by Chief Justice
of India T S Thakur disclosed that there are 87 individuals who owe Rs 500
crore or more to the banks and bad loans on account of their default to repay
totalled Rs 85,000 crore. indianexpress
Editor of news website
Indian Muslim Observer receives threat call, asked to ‘shut up’
New Delhi: Danish Ahmed
Khan, founder and editor of Delhi-based news website Indian Muslim Observer was
on Saturday, October 22 threatened by an unknown caller and asked to “shut up”.
The call was followed by an abusive SMS.“Since I am a journalist running a
Muslim News Portal and my mobile number is public on my website as well as
Facebook profile, I therefore have been sent a message to shut up. This is how
journalists and Muslims are being threatened of dire consequences by Hindutva
goons and mischief mongers. Will Muslims be continued to be threatened like
this under Narendra Modi regime?” asked Khan.The unknown caller can be clearly
heard abusing and making derogatory remarks against a particular community in
the recording of the call, which is available with Twocircles.net.TCN
World
Egypt: Ex-president Mohamed
Morsi's life term cancelled, court orders a retrial
Cairo: An Egyptian court
cancelled the life sentences on Tuesday handed out to former president Mohamed
Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie along with 15 other leaders of
the banned group in an espionage case and ordered a retrial. The court also
cancelled death sentences handed out to 16 other Muslim Brotherhood members,
including top leaders Khyrat el-Sharer and Mohamed el-Beltagy Ahmed Abdel Aty.
13 of the 16 were sentenced in absentia. The defendants were accused of spying,
funding terrorism and disclosing national security.The decision comes just days
after an Egyptian criminal court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence handed out
to Morsi for inciting violence during demonstrations in 2012, the first final
verdict in a case against the former president.Eight other defendants were
sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years in the case. Their appeals were
refused too. Morsi is currently in prison over other cases including for
escaping from prison during the January 25 Revolution in 2011, insulting the
judiciary and handing documents of national security importance to Qatari
intelligence through the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel.PTI
IS steps up counter-attacks
as Mosul offensive enters 2nd week: Reuters
Baghdad/Bartella, Iraq
Islamic State expanded its attacks on Monday against Iraqi army and Kurdish
forces to relieve pressure on its militants confronting an offensive on Mosul,
its last major urban stronghold in the country.About 80 Islamic State-held
villages and towns have been retaken in the first week of the offensive,
bringing Iraqi and Kurdish forces closer to the edge of the city itself - where
the battle will be hardest fought.Mosul campaign, which aims to crush the Iraqi
half of Islamic State's declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, may be the
biggest battle yet in the 13 years of turmoil triggered by the US-led invasion
of Iraq in 2003, and could require a massive humanitarian relief operation.In a
series of counter-attacks on far-flung targets across Iraq since Friday,
Islamic State fighters have hit Kirkuk, the north's main oil city, the town of
Rutba that controls the road from Baghdad to Jordan and Syria, and Sinjar, a
region west of Mosul.More than 770 Islamic State fighters have been killed and
23 captured. Islamic State says it has killed hundreds of fighters from the
attacking forces and blocked their progress. Reuters
Wave of strikes as IS puts
up tough defence of Mosul
NATO to 'expand' support
for Iraq in anti-Daesh fight
Brussels/Ankara: NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledged Tuesday to step up efforts to help
Iraq in fighting Daesh.Speaking at a press conference in Brussels ahead of the
meetings of NATO Defence Ministers, Stoltenberg said the NATO would expand its
support into Iraq in the coming months. Anadolu agency
Shia militiamen amass west
of Daesh-held Mosul
Baghdad: Thousands of Hashd
al-Shaabi militiamen have amassed to the west of Mosul amid preparations to
help retake the city from the Daesh, a Hashd al-Shaabi leader announced
Tuesday.Jawad al-Talebawi, a spokesman for the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a militant
faction within the Hashd al-Shaabi, told Anadolu Agency that the group was preparing
to launch "a major operation to free the Tel Afar district [west of Mosul]
from Daesh and cut the road linking the city to Syria"."We’re
ready," al-Talebawi said. "We’re just waiting for the Hashd al-Shaabi
leadership to give the go-ahead." Anadolu agency
Iraqi lawmaker, rights
group urge inquiry into air strike on Shi'ite mosque attack, blaming US-led
forces
An Iraqi lawmaker has
called on her govtto investigate a suspected air strike at a Shi'ite mosque
during fighting in nearby Kirkuk last week, saying US-led forces could have
been involved - a suggestion dismissed by the coalition.Human Rights Watch
echoed the call from Shi'ite Muslim MP Hanan al-Fatlawi for an enquiry, saying
on Monday only Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces were known to carry out air
attacks in the region. Iraq's army said it was investigating.The multiplication
of forces involved in the conflicts in Iraq and neighbouring Syria has raised
fears of accidental strikes and confrontations on an increasingly complex
battlefield.Fatlawi said the attack killed 15 women on Friday in Daquq, a town
near the northern oil city Kirkuk which Islamic State militants were attacking
at the time. HRW said 13 women and children were killed and at least 45
wounded.Reuters
UN concerned about
‘collective punishment’ of Arabs in Kirkuk
United Nations voiced
concern today that Kurdish authorities had forced 250 displaced Sunni Arab
families to leave Kirkuk after a Daesh attack on the Kurdish-controlled city,
calling the move “collective punishment”.Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian
coordinator for Iraq, told Reuters in an interview that the action came days
before an expected mass exodus from the northern Sunni city of Mosul, where an
offensive by Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led coalition, is underway against
Daesh.“We were informed that two days after the attack by ISIL or Daesh, the
Kirkuk authorities announced that they will be expelling the [displaced Sunni
Arab] civilian population and just a few hours after the announcement we
understand that around 250 civilian families felt they had no choice but to
leave,” Grande said. middleeastmonitor
UN aborts plan to evacuate
patients from Aleppo
The United Nations has
abandoned plans to evacuate patients from besieged opposition-held east Aleppo
which it had hoped to accomplish during a three day lull in fighting last week,
blaming all parties to the conflict for obstructing efforts.“The evacuations
were obstructed by various factors, including delays in receiving the necessary
approvals from local authorities in eastern Aleppo, conditions placed by
non-state armed groups and the govtof Syria’s objection to allowing medical and
other relief supplies into the eastern part of the city,” UN Under-Secretary-General
for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator Stephen O’Brien said
in a statement yesterday. middleeastmonitor
Gunmen kill 59 in attack on
police academy in Pakistani city of Quetta:Reuters
At least 59 people were
killed and 117 critically wounded when gunman stormed a Pakistani police
training academy in the southwestern city of Quetta, govtofficials said on
Tuesday. Some 200 trainees were stationed at the facility when the attack
occurred late on Monday, officials said, and some were taken hostage during the
attack which lasted five hours.Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister of Baluchistan
province, of which Quetta is the capital, had confirmed early on Tuesday that
five to six gunmen had attacked a dormitory inside the training facility while
cadets rested and slept.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the
attack.
UN envoys urge Myanmar to
probe Rohingya Muslim killings, arrests in Rakhine state
UN human rights experts
have called on Myanmar to investigate allegations that security forces have
killed unarmed civilians, burned villages and made arbitrary arrests in a
Muslim-majority region where a crackdown has followed attacks on border police.Aid
agencies say up to 15,000 people, believed to be mostly Rohingya Muslims, have
been displaced since armed men launched coordinated attacks on three posts
along the northwestern border with Bangladesh on 9 October.The government,
which is led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has characterised
the response of security forces as a carefully targeted sweep of northern
Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township in search of the perpetrators.Officials say
security forces have killed 30 "attackers" and detained 53 suspects
while searching for 400 suspected Rohingya militants, who seized dozens of
weapons from border police.Rights group and sources from the mostly stateless
Rohingya group have told Reuters that civilians are bearing the brunt of the military-led
operation. They say the death toll from the violence is higher than
reported.Reuters
Kansas churchgoers hold
candlelit vigil in support of Muslim immigrants targeted by far-right
terrorists
Church-goers in a small
city in southwest Kansas marched in support of the local Muslim community,
after details emerged of a foiled plot by a far-right militia to bomb an
apartment complex where many immigrants live.Federal investigators announced
the arrest of three men on 14 Oct., for involvement in a domestic terrorism
plot.They had allegedly planned to blow up a suburban housing estate in Garden
City where several African immigrant families lived, along with a community
from Burma. Hundreds of predominantly Christian residents of the city gathered
outside the apartment complex on 15 and 16 Oct.to show support for the
immigrant communities. Many also attended a candlelit "unity walk"
vigil on Saturday night. Around 1,000 Muslim
refugees, most from Somalia, but some from Ethiopia and Sudan, live in the city
of 28,000 people. Most work in a meat-packing factory nearby. The independent
Top Muslim body OIC
compiles database of Israeli companies to enforce boycott
Tashkent: Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is compiling a list of Israeli companies operating in
occupied Palestinian territories that will be used as a database for the organization’s
57 member countries to implement an agreement that boycotts Israeli products.
“OIC Secretariat has been requested to provide an up-to-date database on
Israeli companies that produce materials or goods in the occupied territories.
The database would later be agreed upon for the boycott," the Foreign
Ministry's multilateral affairs director general Hasan Kleib said.He was
responding to journalists’ questions on the results from the recent OIC Council
of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Kleib further explained that the
boycott agreed by OIC member countries during a conference earlier this year
would not be implemented on all Israeli products, but only for those produced
in the occupied territories—the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. While
the primary focus was toward Israeli companies, it would be deemed
disappointing if foreign companies were also operating in the aforementioned
areas, as this opposed the global dissenting voice against Israel, he said.IINA
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:52 PM)
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