NEWS
DIGEST, MID-DAY
22 April 2018:05 Shaban 1439:Vol:10, No:04
INDIA
President approves ordinance seeking death
penalty for rape of girls below 12
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday
promulgated an ordinance to pave way for providing stringent punishment,
including death penalty, for those convicted of raping girls below the age of
12 years.Union Cabinet on Saturday approved the ordinance to allow courts to
award death penalty to those convicted of raping girls under 12 years.New
fast-track courts will be set up to deal with such cases and special forensic
kits for rape cases will be given to all police stations and hospitals in the
long term, according to Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2018.It stipulates
stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape, particularly of girls below 16
and 12 years. Death sentence has been provided for rapists of girls under 12
years, officials said quoting the ordinance.The minimum punishment in case of
rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to
10 years, extendable to life imprisonment, they said. In case of rape of a girl
under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years to 20
years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which means jail term till
the convict’s “natural life".The punishment for gangrape of a girl below
16 years will invariably be imprisonment for the rest of life of the convict,
the officials said.Stringent punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years has
been provided with the minimum jail term being 20 years which may go up to life
in prison or death sentence, they said. There will also be no provision for
anticipatory bail for a person accused of rape or gang rape of a girl under16
years.PTI
President Kovind signs ordinance to allow
death penalty for those who rape girls below 12
Kathua rape-murder case: Forensic lab confirms
girl subjected to sexual assault by accused'
Delhi Forensic Science Laboratory, which was
contacted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police probing the gangrape and murder of an
8-year-old girl in Kathua, has analysed 14 samples, including hair strands and
clothes, of the girl.“One of the parcels we were sent had two hair strands with
roots. The fact that the hair strands had roots was important as DNA
identification requires the root. One of the hair strand pins the accused, the
second matched with that of the girl. Also, a spot of blood was found on the
frill of her frock. They had destroyed the cloth by washing it with detergent,
but a droplet was there. That was an incidental discovery. We received the
first lot of evidences on March 1 and the second on March 14. Around 14 parcels
were received in total,” said a senior Home Dept official. Delhi lab examined
14 packets of evidence — containing vaginal smear, hair strands, blood samples
of 4 accused, viscera of the girl, the girl’s frock and salwar, simple clay,
and bloodstained clay.indianexpress
Kathua gangrape victim's post-mortem reveals
shocking brutality
Kathua, Unnao rapes part of a pattern of
targeted attacks against minorities, academics tell Modi
In the backdrop of two rape incidents in J&K’s
Kathua and UP’s Unnao, hundreds of academics and independent scholars from
India and abroad on Saturday wrote an open letter to PM Narendra Modi, saying
there was an undeniable link between the ruling dispensation and violence
against minorities. They also said they endorsed the opinion expressed by 49 ex-civil
servants who held Modi responsible “more than anyone else” for the “terrifying
state of affairs” in the country.“We wish to express our deep anger and anguish
over the events in Kathua and Unnao and the aftermath of these events,” letter,
which has been signed by 637 academics and scholars, read. “[We wish to express
our deep anger and anguish] over efforts, in both cases, of those administering
the relevant states to protect the alleged perpetrators of these monstrous
crimes;over the subsequent profoundly distasteful efforts of rationalisation,
deflection and diversion that have been so much in evidence in the reactions of
your party’s spokespersons in the media; and finally over your own prolonged
[and by now familiar] silence that was broken only recently with wholly
inadequate, platitudinous, and non-specific assurances of justice for the
victims.”The signatories include Noam Chomsky, Amiya Kumar Bagchi, (Emeritus),
Institute for Development Studies, Kolkata, Arindam Banerjee of Delhi’s
Ambedkar University, Sibaji Bandyopadhyay, retired professor of Centre for
Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, Ira Bhaskar, JNU, New Delhi, Paula
Chakravartty, New York University, New York, and Jean Dreze of Ranchi
University, among others.scroll.in
Kerala Police arrest ex-RSS worker, 4 others
for hoax call for shutdown against Kathua rape
The police in Kerala arrested 5 people,
including a former worker of RSS, on Saturday in connection with a shutdown in
the state on April 16 against the rape and murder in Kathua district,
Mathrubhumi reported. The shutdown had led to several incidents of violence
across Kerala.Ex-RSS worker, 19-year-old Amarnath Baiju, was the key
conspirator, according to the police. After being expelled from the RSS in
2017, Thenmala resident had started criticising the organisation on social
media and earned a significant following, Malappuram DSP Jaleel Thottathil
said.Baiju allegedly formed two WhatsApp groups – “Voice of Truth” and “Justice
for Sisters” – after the Kathua rape and murder and asked people to stay away
from work on April 16 in protest. Members of the Muslim outfit PFI, its
political arm SDPI, CPI (M) and the Congress had supported the call for the
shutdown, The Hindu reported.The police said SDPI had spread the message
further, but outfit has denied the charge.“After receiving overwhelming
response to their call for a hartal [strike], the team created district-level
WhatsApp groups across Kerala and launched an aggressive campaign,” Thottathil
said, according to TOI.As the call spread further, Baiju and his team developed
cold feet and tried to alert the media, the police said.Violence was reported
from the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, Kasaragode and Wayanad
during the strike. The police have arrested more than a thousand people since
then.BJP said neither the party nor RSS had any role in the call for the
shutdown. Earlier, the party had blamed Muslim outfits for the call for the
shutdown and had sought an inquiry by NIA.scroll.in
WhatsApp hartal: 5, including main
conspirator, arrested
Opposition going public on removal notice
against CJI Misra violates rules, say officials
New Delhi:The press conference by leaders of
the Congress and other parties on Friday and making public the contents of
their notice of impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra is a clear violation
of provisions of the handbook for members of the Rajya Sabha, parliament
officials said on Saturday.The Congress and six other opposition parties on
Friday submitted the notice of an impeachment motion for the removal of the CJI
on 5 grounds of “misbehaviour”.Besides the Congress, those who signed the
notice include members of Samajwadi Party, BSP, CPI-Marxist, or CPI (M), CPI,
NCP and the IUML.After submitting the notice to Rajya Sabha chairperson M
Venkaiah Naidu at his residence, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and
Kapil Sibal, flanked by CPI’s D Raja and NCP’s Vandana Chavan, addressed a news
conference in the national capital.While the leaders did not circulate the
copies of the notice, a four-page press statement listing out the reasons along
with five charges against the CJI was distributed among the journalists.HT
CJI Dipak Misra impeachment: RS Secretariat
looks at rule which bars publicity till House takes up notice
A horribly black day: Fali Nariman on
Opposition move to impeach CJI Dipak Misra
New Delhi:The Opposition move to impeach CJI
Dipak Misra is “a horribly black day in the history of the Supreme Court” and
will not only diminish the public’s faith in the judiciary, but will open the
door for the ruling party to move against a judge if it doesn’t like a
particular judgment, senior jurist Fali Nariman has said. “This is a horribly
black day…The blackest possible day. I’ve never seen a day like this. In my 67
years, I’ve never seen a day like this,” Nariman said in an interview to The
Sunday Express.Nariman pointed out that the charges brought by the Congress-led
Opposition were not in line with what the four most senior judges — Justices
Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Kurian Joseph and Madan Lokur —stated in their
press conference on January 12. “One of the (Opposition’s) charges is forgery.
But… the 4 judges didn’t subscribe to this charge. You have to be conscious
that this is a serious charge against the Chief Justice of India. This is a
very serious move, you have to have cogent evidence. You have to have something
to prove,” Nariman said.indianexpress
Govt to seize properties of ‘fugitive economic
offenders’; ordinance cleared
New Delhi; Union Cabinet has approved a
proposal to promulgate the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018 that
provides for confiscating properties and assets of economic offenders like loan
defaulters who flee the country, officials said.Fugitive Economic Offenders
Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 12 but could not be passed due to the
logjam in Parliament. It seeks to confiscate properties of economic offenders,
like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, who have left the country to avoid facing
criminal prosecution. While the ordinance will come into effect after the
President’s assent, it will have to be approved by Parliament within six weeks of its reassembly, or else it will cease to exist.indianexpress
Yashwant Sinha quits BJP, says democracy under
threat
Former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha,
who has been severely critical of the Narendra Modi Government's policies and
style of functioning, today quit the BJP, alleging that democracy was under
threat and key institutions were being undermined in the country. The
80-year-old leader, who held finance and external affairs portfolios in the
Atal Bihari Vajpayee government but was sidelined in the party after Narendra
Modi and Amit Shah came at the helm, made it clear that he would not join any
other political party, saying he was taking 'sanyas' (retirement) from party
politics and will now work for "saving democracy in the
country".Sinha made the annoucement in the presence of dissident BJP MP
from Patna Saheb Shatrughan Sinha and opposition leaders like Congress' Renuka
Chowdhary, TMC' Dinesh Trivedi, rebel JD(U) leader Uday Narain Choudhary and
AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh.Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav, who
attended the function, compared Yashwant Sinha with Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan
(JP) and urged him to take up a role similar to the one the socialist leader
had played during Emergency to protect the country and Constitution."I am
announcing from the land of Patna that I would no longer be the part of any
'party-politics' as I am taking retirement from it. And I am not going to join
any party," Yashwant Sinha said while addressing a meeting of his newly
launched apolitical outfit "Rashtra Manch" (National Forum)."I
took retirment from electoral politics four years ago... I am severing all my
ties with BJP...I will not be the contender for any post in future," Sinha
said and added in lighter vein that Shatrughan Sinha always says that those who
have stature don't aspire for any post.PTI
Issues Yashwant Sinha raised against Modi, Centre
while ending who association with party
Gorakhpur doctor writes from jail: Made
scapegoat for administrative failure
New Delhi:Lodged in a Gorakhpur jail since
Sept.2, 2017, after several children died in a short span at the city’s BRD
Medical College Hospital in August last year, Dr Kafeel Khan has alleged that
he and others are being made “scapegoats” for an “administrative failure” at a
higher level.In a letter from jail,dated April 18 and released to the media by
Khan’s wife Shabista at the Press Club of India, he wrote that he was on
sanctioned leave on Aug.10, 2017, when news reached him about the deaths, and
he “rushed” to the hospital.“The moment I got that WhatsApp message on that
fateful night, I did everything a doctor, a father, a responsible citizen of
India would/should do… I tried to save each and every life which was in danger
due to sudden stoppage of liquid oxygen,” he wrote. Khan claimed, “Guilty are
DM Gorakhpur, DGME, principal secretary health education for not taking any
action against 14 reminders sent by Pushpa Sales for its Rs 68 lakh dues. It
was a total administrative failure at higher level, they did not realise the
gravity and just to save themselves, they made us scapegoat and put us behind
the bars…”He claims that his life “turned upside down” when UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath visited him the following day.At the press conference, Shabista
said, “My husband has done no crime. If he wanted, he could have stayed home
(during the emergency last August). On many occasions he has himself paid for
supplies such as masks, gloves and sanitisers. Deaths were a result of
administrative failure…”Ravi Nair, executive director of South Asia Human
Rights Documentation Centre, who also addressed the press conference, said all
offences Khan and others were charged with are bailable.indianexpress
Can Muzaffarnagar Riot Cases Be Withdrawn
While Victims Await Justice?
http://caravandaily.com/portal/can-muzaffarnagar-riot-cases-be-withdrawn-without-delivering-justice/
Muzaffarnagar:22-year-old Asif Saifi’s voice
quivers when he narrates the narrow escape that his family had while fleeing
from their house during the Muzzafarnagar riots. Old wounds open up to show
that the pain of witnessing his mother Waqeela being killed during the riot is
still fresh. The remorse of being unable to bring her dead body to offer the
perfect burial still haunts Asif, the youngest son of Waqeela, who now makes a
living by making window and doors of iron in Jidana village of Uttar Pradesh.
His home in Lisarh village, which had been looted and set ablaze by the
rioters, only had painful memories, so the family sold it off at a minimal
price, with a resolve of never returning back to their village.Asif is not the
only one to have suffered. There were many like him, to have suffered from
personal losses, four and half years back when Muzaffarnagar and Shamli
district of western Uttar Pradesh witnessed communal riots in September 2013,
that left at least 62 persons killed and over 50,000 displaced. Majority of the
victims belonged to the Muslim community.Following the violence, a total of 503
cases had been registered against 1,455 people by the then Samajwadi Party govt.
Most of the cases registered were serious crimes such as murder, attempt to
murder, rape, arson and damage of properties and promoting enmity on religious
grounds. The trauma of the riots was so intense that none of the Muslim family
that fled to save their lives returned to its old houses. The memory of losing
their loved ones there, while their houses were torched and looted lies fresh
in their mind. Post displacement the victims had to live for a long time in
relief camps. Despite having grievance, they were hopeful of getting justice.
But the recent decision of state’s BJP govt to withdraw 131 riot cases, citing
them as fake or politically motivated, including those in which the prime
accused were BJP leaders, shows a travesty of justice for them.Caravan Daily
Jharkhand: Koderma village gradually recovers
mob attack over ‘banned meat’ in reception
Koderma:Days after a mob attacked a Muslim
family’s home in Nawadih village in Jharkhand’s Koderma district on the
suspicion that they served bovine meat at a wedding reception, the area is
limping back to normalcy. Prohibitory orders, however, continue to be in force
as police said investigation into the incident is at an early stage.The mob
attack came a day after the wedding reception of Nayeem Ansari, 22, on April
16. The next morning, the mob reached their home and alleged that they had
served “banned meat”. In the violence that followed, Nayeem’s father Jumman
Miyan, a tailor, was injured and their home vandalised. More than a dozen other
houses were vandalised and motorcycles and some four-wheelers damaged. 7 people
have been arrested and police said report of the forensic examination on the
“hooves” recovered from the spot is awaited. Jumman Miyan, it was learnt, is
recuperating at Sadar Hospital. indianexpress
CRPF becomes pawn in dispute between Delhi
Development Authority, Delhi Waqf Board
It was 5 am when Nafisa Begum and her family
woke up to the sound of police vans, trucks and then steps approaching towards
her house. As she came out, she saw around 5,000 policemen along with some CRPF
personnel encircling the area and even sealing all the roads approaching
them."We felt like we were trapped. The cops suddenly started covering
half of the area, they used tin to separate it. We were left helpless. It was
an act of intrusion," said Begum, whose family has been living near Lal
Masjid for over 100 years now.Like Begum, there are 4 more families residing in
Lal Masjid area, which belong to the Delhi Waqf Board. According to the
residents, the CRPF has illegally grabbed the land while the matter is still
pending with the Delhi High Court."The court has not yet given the final
order but the agencies encroached upon the land. They have also razed the
graves," said Beghum. A historical mosque in Nizamuddin area of Delhi,
known as Lal masjid, was constructed almost 200 years ago. Sources in the Delhi
Waqf Board said there are 128 such properties in the Capital which are under
dispute. The claim to these properties is made by both -- Waqf board and Delhi
Development Authority (DDA) that comes under the Urban Development Ministry.
However, the CRPF has a different story to tell. According to the agency, the
land was alloted to them by the MHA in June last year.According to the sources,
Lal Masjid, situated near the CBI HQRS, where the whole area known as CGO
complex, is said to be built on the waqf lands. The area houses a host of
central ministry offices. The Sachar Report also mentioned the CGO complex as
waqf property under "adverse possession".dnaindia
NEET Allows Hijab, other Customary Dresses,With
a Rider
Candidates in customary dresses including
Hijab will also be allowed to enter the exam centers for the NEET 2018 on 6th
May.CBSE, which conducts NEET for admission to MBBS/BDS courses, granted the
permission – but with a rider.60-page Information Bulletin for NEET 2018-19 has
a chapter on Barred Items and Dress Code. Like the past, the general dress code
asks candidates to wear “(a) Light clothes with half sleeves not having big
buttons, brooch/badge, flower etc. with Salwar/Trouser. (b) Slippers, sandals
with low heels and not the shoes.” But unlike the past, this section has one
extra paragraph that grants permission for customary dress but asks such
candidates to report one hour before last reporting time.“In case, candidates
are coming in customary dress for appearing in the examination, they should
report at least an hour before the last reporting time i.e. 9.30 AM, so that they
could be frisked properly,”reads CBSE bulletin.caravandaily
Wary of Decline in Muslim Votes, TMC Asks EC
to Hold Panchayat Polls Before Ramzan
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress leaders on
Saturday met West Bengal Election Commissioner AK Singh and requested him to
conclude the Panchayat Polls before Ramzan, saying Muslims may find it
difficult to votes due to fasting.TMC general secretary Partha Chatterjee and leader
Subrata Bakshi met Election Commissioner AK Singh around 2 pm on Saturday to
make the request.This comes after the Calcutta High Court asked the State
Election Commission (SEC) to extend the deadline for panchayat poll candidates.
They also appraised him about the extreme heat across the state and how this
could cause more problems for voters if the poll process is further delayed,
Chatterjee said.The HC decision requires the SEC to reschedule panchayat elections
that were earlier to be held on May 1, 3 and 5 and could push the poll dates to
the Ramzan period. Chatterjee, said, “Today, we met Election Commissioner and
shared our issues related to poll. We told him that TMC don’t want Panchayat
poll during the Ramzan period.” It is likely that SEC will now announce the
fresh polling/filing of nomination dates on Monday.News18
RSS ties doesn't make one communal: Masjid
blast case judge
Hyderabad: Hours before he made his
sensational decision to resign after acquitting 5 accused in the Mecca Masjid
bomb blast case, special court judge K Ravinder Reddy dismissed contentions
made by National Investigation Agency, especially evidence put forth before him
by CBI, which had earlier investigated the case, as “untrustworthy”. Ravinder
Reddy , IV additional metropolitan sessions judgecum-special judge for NIA
cases, observed “any person associated with RSS is not communal and not
anti-social”.The judge, while discussing the NIA charge, questioned whether the
prosecution proved beyond doubt that Devender Gupta was communal for just being
a pracharak of RSS?``RSS is not proscribed outfit. If any person works in it,
it does not give any scope that he is a communal,’’ judge said in his 140-page
judgement.TOI
NIA yet to decide on Mecca Masjid case
New Delhi: NIA has said that it had received a
copy of the judgment in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case and was getting it
transported to its Delhi headquarters to decide on the next course of action.A
special NIA court in Hyderabad acquitted five accused, including former RSS
member Aseemanand, on April 16.Officials said there was a delay in getting a
copy of the judgment as the judge was making some corrections in the order. “We
will examine the order when we get a copy and can decide the next course of
action only then,” an NIA official said.On March 8, 2017, a special court in
Jaipur acquitted Aseemanand and six others in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case.
3 others were convicted. NIA did not challenge the acquittals.On allegations
that the NIA’s public prosecutor, N. Harinath, was chosen for his political
affiliation, the official said he was selected through the due process of
empanelment. “The previous prosecutor, S.K. Ramarao, was on deputation to the NIA
from the AP govt. He had been on deputation from June 2011 to June 2014.”
Harinath, a former ABVP member, was engaged by the NIA in 2015. He had no
experience in representing terror cases, but had appeared for CBI and the ED in
cases of financial fraud. Aseemanand, who appeared in a Panchkula court on
Saturday, told presspersons that he was “a victim of political vendetta.” He is
now facing trial in 2007 Samjhauta train blast. The train was on its way to
Lahore from Delhi. Aseemanand and five others have been chargesheeted by the
NIA in the case. He was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High court in
August 2014, months after the NDA government came to power.thehindu
Hyderabad: Massive protest against Makkah
Masjid blast judgment and rape incidents
Hyderabad: Massive protest was staged in
several parts of the twin cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad against
government’s silence on Makkah Masjid blast judgment and rape incidents.
Despite opposition for public bandh by the political leaders, people
voluntarily observed bandh. The peaceful protest jittered various political and
religious leaders. Banners and posters were put up in various places.18 rallies
reached Charminar from various places after Friday prayers. They demanded the
execution of accused in the rape case. They shouted slogans against injustice
in Makkah Masjid case.siasat
Linking bank accounts with Aadhaar mandatory
if the Centre gives a deadline, says RBI
RBI has made it mandatory to link bank
accounts with Aadhaar if the Centre gives a deadline to do so. The central bank
made the announcement in a circular with updated Know-Your-Customer norms on
Friday.On March 13, the Supreme Court had indefinitely extended the deadline to
link Aadhaar with bank accounts. The deadline was to expire on March 31. A
five-judge Constitution bench extended the deadline until it pronounces its
judgement on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of
the biometric identification system.In its circular, RBI said if a customer
does not submit their Aadhaar and PAN to the bank before a deadline given by
the Centre, the account will stop being operational till the account-holder
does so. Banks will give customers at least two notices to comply with the
deadline.scroll.in
Bahujan Azad Party: Meet Former IITians Who
Have Entered Politics to Uplift Dalits
New Delhi: A group of former IITians have
formed a political outfit, Bahujan Azad Party, dominated by members of the
Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class category. Party
members say that they aim to uplift the marginalised community in a manner that
no other political party could. As they await the nod from Election Commission
of India, 3 of Bahujan Azad Party’s members spoke to News18.My name is Naveen
Kumar, a B.Tech graduate from IIT Delhi. SCs don’t want soap and oil, give them
their rights and quota. My Name is Vikrant Vatsal, a B.Tech in Biochemical
Engineering from IIT Delhi, and I demand 60% quota for OBCs. My name is Sampath
Kumar Banoth, M.Tech from IIT Kharagpur and PhD from IIT Roorkee. STs are an
asset and not liability to the nation.news18
Allahabad HC asks govt to reply in ‘fake
encounter’ case
Allahabad High Court has directed the UP govt
to file a reply to allegations of a fake encounter by the family of a man
killed last year in Muzaffarnagar. Justice J J Munir’s order delivered on
Wednesday, but published Saturday, directed the UP govt to issue notices to 15
policemen allegedly involved in the Oct 22 “encounter” in which Budhana
resident Furqan was killed.
WORLD
Palestinian scholar killed in Kuala Lumpur,Mossad
blamed
A Palestinian scholar has been shot dead by
two assailants in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, as he was heading to a
mosque for dawn prayers, according to local police.Fadi al-Batsh, a 35-year-old
Palestinian academic and member of Hamas, was instantly killed by the unknown
attackers in a residential neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.Al-Batsh's
father told Al Jazeera that he accuses Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, of
being behind his son's killing and called on the Malaysian authorities to look
into who carried out the "assassination" as soon as possible. Ahmad
Zahid Hamidi, Malaysia's deputy prime minister, said the suspects were believed
to be Europeans with links to a foreign intelligence agency, according to Bernama.According
to police chief Datuk Seri Mansor Lazim, the two attackers had waited for
al-Batsh in front of a residential building in Setapak district for almost 20
minutes, and fired at least 10 bullets, four of which instantly killed
him.Al-Batsh was shot in the "body and head", the police said, adding
that they are investigating all angles including "terrorism".aljazeera
Malaysian police: Killing of Palestinian
academic an 'international issue'
Kuala Lumpur's chief of police says the
killing of a Palestinian academic in the Malaysian capital is an
"international issue" that is being investigated from all
angles.Malaysian authorities said an autopsy was carried out Sunday morning on
the body of Hamas member Fadi al-Batsh, a day after the drive-by shooting that
Hamas and the victim's family blamed on Israel."We are investigating all
angles. I have to investigate very carefully and deeply. This is an
international issue," police chief Mazlan Lazim said.Hamas said al-Batsh
was an important member of the organisation, accusing Israel's Mossad
intelligence agency of being behind killing.aljazeera
Israeli minister warns of resuming targeted
assassinations of Hamas leaders
Israeli Minister Israel Katz warned of
resuming targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, Al-Quds
Al-Arabi reported on Friday.On Twitter, Katz wrote: “Hamas has to know that any
attack on Israeli army commanders on the borders of Gaza would renew the
targeted killing of Hamas leaders.”He added: “The warning of Islamic Jihad
Movement in Palestine to open fire by snipers from Gaza at army commanders is a
red line.”Since March 30, which marks Palestine Land Day, the Palestinians have
been peacefully staging protests along the eastern Gaza borders, calling for
the implementation of the UN Resolution 194 which stipulates the return of Palestine
refugees to their homes, as well as to lift the 11-year-old Israeli blockade in
Gaza.middleeastmonitor
Palestine calls for UN probe into Israeli
killings in Gaza
Palestine's ambassador to the UN has called on
the UNSC to form an independent commission tasked with looking into Israel's
"crimes" including the killing and wounding of Palestinian protesters
in the besieged Gaza Strip.Riyad Mansour said on Friday evening that the
Palestinian Authority (PA) is set to submit a list of complaints in the coming days
to UN Human Rights Council, with the intention of establishing an investigative
committee or a fact-finding mission."It seems that the Israeli occupying
forces are not restraining themselves, they're not listening to anyone and they
are continuing with this massacre," Mansour told reporters in New
York.aljazeera
Israel control of Palestinian water supply
hits farmers
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/israel-control-palestinian-water-supply-hits-farmers-180421144230553.html
Israel has controlled water supplies in the occupied West Bank since seizing the territory during 1967 war. Palestinians have long complained about not getting their agreed share and now rights groups believe Israel is deliberately limiting the water supply to farmers in an attempt to force them out.aljazeera
Israel has controlled water supplies in the occupied West Bank since seizing the territory during 1967 war. Palestinians have long complained about not getting their agreed share and now rights groups believe Israel is deliberately limiting the water supply to farmers in an attempt to force them out.aljazeera
Ex- Israeli diplomat confirms Saudi official
visited Israel
Former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Dore Gold
has said that Israeli mutual relations with many Arab countries, mainly Saudi
Arabia and the UAE, are developing, citing a secret visit of Saudi official
Anwar Eshki to Israel, Alarab.qa reported on Friday.In an interview with the
Jerusalem Institute for the Study of State and General Affairs, an Israeli
organisation, Gold revealed a series of meetings with the Saudi official,
noting that the latter asked him to make the meetings overt. “I can say that
Eshki visited Israel,” Gold said.“Israel’s relations with the UAE are a
different story,” he said. “There is an international organisation working in
the field of renewable energy and it adopts a system almost similar to that of
the US and several countries are members in this organisation, which has its headquarters
in Abu-Dhabi.”middleeastmonitor
Abbas cuts salaries of Gaza prisoners inside
Israeli jails
Along with the Palestinian public employees in
Gaza, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cut the salaries of the
Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip held inside Israeli jails, Quds Press
reported on Friday.Sources told Quds Press that they had contacted the head of
the PLO’s Committee of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe, noting that he claimed
this was a result of a “technical error” that would be amended soon.The sources
also reported that senior Fatah leader, Marwan al-Barghouti, imprisoned in
Israeli prisons since 2002, was angry with Abbas’s decision to cut the salaries
of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza, noting that it “undermines one of the main
principles of the Palestinian cause.”MEMO
US city becomes first to ban police from
training with Israel forces
A city in the US has banned its police force
from training with the Israeli military after lobbying from community
organisations, making it the first in the country to take such a measure.The
city council in Durham, North Carolina, adopted the ban after a unanimous vote
on Monday to prohibit police from receiving "international military-style
training", local media reported."The council opposes international
exchanges with any country in which Durham officers receive military-style
training," a statement from the council said."Such exchanges do not
support the kind of policing we want here in City of Durham," it added.The
move came after a coalition of diverse activist groups under banner of
"Demilitarize from Durham2Palestine" petitioned authorities ban
police from receiving training on controversial methods used by Israel against
Palestinians."City of Durham is leading the way in declaring that safety
for all means de-militarising the police force," said Jewish Voice for
Peace, one of the groups in the coalition.alaraby
Saudi-led coalition air raid kills 20 Yemeni
civilians:report
20 people have been killed in an air strike by
a Saudi-led military coalition in southwestern Yemen, residents said.The attack
on Friday hit a car transporting 20 passengers in the south of Taiz province,
locals told Reuters news agency.Six bodies had been identified but the rest
were charred beyond recognition, the residents added.A spokesman for the
Saudi-led coalition said it would investigate the report, but declined to
comment further."We take this report very seriously," he was quoted
as saying by Reuters.The coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015
against Houthi rebels who overthrew the internationally recognised government
of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.aljazeera
Deaths in attack on ID registration centre in
Kabul
A suicide bombing near a voter registration
centre in the Afghan capital Kabul has killed at least 4 people, health
officials said.Kabul's acting police chief, Mohammad Daoud Amin, said the
assailant detonated his explosives outside the ID distribution centre in the
capital at 10am. aljazeera
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
This Muslim IPS officer could have averted
Naroda Patiya massacre, but he didn’t: Aleem Faizee, ummid.com
India would have been a dump for crackpot science
had Modi not Nehru been its first leader:PERVEZ HOODBHOY
Aakar Patel: Majoritarianism—the curse of the
Indian subcontinent:Aakar Patel
MEET TALIB HUSSAIN: Barkha Dutt
The Unnao Story: Rape. Trauma, Murder, Fear
With the Girl and Her Mother Now Living in Abject Terror
“We Write So That Callousness and Cowardice
Draws the Line At the Broken Body of a Little Girl...”Academics
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