NEWS
DIGEST, MID-DAY
17 Sept. 2018: 06 Muhram 1440:
Vol: 11, No:05
INDIA
SC says it will set up SIT if material against
5 activists in Bhima-Koregaon case are found to be cooked up
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will definitely
set up a special investigation team if the material relied on by the
Maharashtra government to raid and arrest five activists on August 28 in
Bhima-Koregaon violence case are found to be “cooked up”, CJI Dipak Misra
orally observed on Monday.A three-judge Bench, led by the Chief Justice said
the court could not be expected to make up its mind unless it saw all the
material evidence against the activists.“First of all, we must have a look at
the material.. If we see the material and find they are cooked up, we will
definitely order the setting up of an SIT... the debate here has to be whether
the Criminal Procedure Code was violated. Wherever this court has appointed
SIT, there has been grave violation,” the Chief Justice addressed parties.Advocate
Prashant Bhushan, for petitioners Romila Thapar and four others, submitted that
the arrests have been made on the basis of “cooked up evidence” planted in the
media by the police.“We do not go by what comes in the media... Besides, in
every criminal case the allegation is the evidence is cooked up. Both sides
[petitioners and the State] can place their materials.We will see on Wednesday
[Sept.19],”CJI Misra said.The court had entertained the petition to protect the
fundamental right to liberty of the five activists. “We have already done so.
Our interim orders [to place them under house arrest at their respective homes]
will continue,” the Chief Justice observed.The 5 activists are poet Vara Vara
Rao, lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Gautam
Navlakha.As for the quashing of the cases against them, CJI suggested they
(accused) could continue their efforts in competent lower courts. CJI even
suggested transferring all the pending cases against the activists to one court
while continuing with their house arrests. But senior advocate A.M. Singhvi
persisted that the SC should first hear the pettioners.The hearing also saw the
Central govt step in and voice its apprehensions about the problem of
“naxalism” that has gripped the country.”I [Centre] have come here because the
problem of naxalism is not confined to one State, Maharashtra, but affects the
entire nation. I have come here considering the overall situation in the
country,” Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh submitted. thehindu
SC
to examine ‘material’ against 5 activists, extends their house arrest till Sept
19
Attack on Swami Agnivesh: Supreme Court
declines nod for CBI probe, asks him to approach HC
New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday refused
to order a CBI probe into the recent attacks on social activist Swami Agnivesh
in Delhi and Pakur district of Jharkhand, saying the state police was already
investigating the matter.Agnivesh claimed that the police in Jharkhand was not
probing the matter and a state cabinet minister had dubbed him a “fraud”.The
top court, however, granted liberty to Agnivesh to make a representation to the
competent authority for providing security. A bench of Justices SA Bobde and L
Nageswara Rao also refused to club the two FIRs registered after attacks on
Agnivesh in Pakur on July 17 and Delhi on August 18 and refer it to CBI.“We are
not saying what happened to you is right or wrong. But the state police is
investigating the matter. We cannot order CBI probe,” the bench said.The court
said it cannot club both the FIRs lodged in Delhi and Pakur as they were two
different incidents.indianexpress
ABVP members attack JNUSU president Balaji,
police refuses to register FIR
Members of RSS and BJP-affiliated student
organisation ABVP attacked the newly elected JNUSU president N Sai Balaji on
Sunday, hours after the JNUSU poll results were announced.Balaji reported the
incident at the Vasant Kunj police station and tried to file an FIR but the
police refused, alleged Balaji. He said that even inside the police station
RSS-ABVP workers threatened to kill him. Disappointed with the response of the
Delhi police, Balaji returned to the JNU campus. A united front of Left student
groups won all four central panel posts in the union defeating ABVP by
considerable margins on Sunday. Balaji alleged that ABVP members were roughing
up an AISA member and when “A couple of students and I intervened, we were
assaulted”.Balaji claimed that the ABVP members even attacked students when a
PCR vehicle was taking them away from the JNU campus.“Today ABVP students
randomly attacked students. I was called to the scene at Sutlej. As the elected
JNUSU President, I went to ensure Pawan Meena's safety who was attacked by ABVP
students with sticks. Upon reaching, what I saw was mayhem. The mob led by
Saurabh Sharma was baiting for the blood of any student they thought was a
friend of Pawan Meena and were attacking students with sticks. They openly
threatened me, Geeta and other students present there with dire consequences if
we intervened to stop the violence. The group now turned into a mob and started attacking Abhinay, a former JNU
student in Jhelum and chased him and almost lynched him on the lawns. I ran
with other students to save Abhinay, who had, by then, fallen unconscious after
the beating and took him to the ambulance and sent him for medical aid,” said
Balaji in a statement.Former JNUSU vice president, Shehla Rashid posted a video
of the scuffle on Twitter. However, ABVP claimed that their members were
roughed up by AISA activists. ABVP and the AISA have both filed complaints at
the Vasant Kunj police station. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest)
Devender Arya said the situation is under control. However, Ranjani Mazumdar, a
professor in the School of Arts and Aesthetics, said that ABVP and RSS members
had gathered outside the police station and were threatening to kill Balaji the
moment he stepped out."PCR got calls about a scuffle between students in
JNU around 3 am. Subsequently, we had a discussion with university authorities,
students and professors. nationalheraldindia
Clashes at JNU hours after students union poll
results
Manipur Lynching: Policemen Were Present When
MBA Student Farooq Was Assaulted
Imphal:Frightening videos of the lynching of
26-year-old MBA student Mohammad Farooq Khan are making rounds on social media.Videos
show villagers mercilessly beating the young man in Tharoijam village in Imphal
West district on 14th Sept. A video shows some armed policemen were present
while Khan was lying in a field, moving his body slightly. He died on the
spot.After the videos went viral, the Manipur police have suspended four
policemen and ordered an inquiry.Media reports say Khan, who was studying MBA
in Bangalore and had come home on vacation, was lynched on suspicion of bike
theft. Khan hailed from Lilong Haoreibi in Thoubal district, around two hours
from the spot where he was lynched.His family, neighbours and human rights
activists have sat on dharna demanding justice for him. A candlelight vigil was
held in Imphal on Sunday. A big candlelight vigil was observed in Imphal also.
caravandaily
Action taken against four policemen in Manipur
lynching case
Imphal: 3 days after a 26-year-old Farooque
Khan was lynched in Imphal West district on suspicion of being a vehicle
lifter, police have suspended a sub-inspector and terminated the services of 3
other officers.The purported video of the incident, which went viral on social
media, showed that the 4 police personnel were “present at the spot when the
victim was alive and lying unattended”, Imphal West SP Jogeshwar Haobijam said.
Local people set afire a car believed to have been used by “2 associates” of
Ahmed. “One sub-inspector has been suspended while three personnel of Village
Defence Forces were terminated Sunday as one of the several videos of the
incident circulating on social media showed that the four personnel were
present at the spot when Khan was lying unattended,” Haobijam said.thehindu
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar free, village
still trapped in caste tension
ON MAY 5, 2017, a mob of Thakurs allegedly
broke into the two-room house of Paramal Singh, an 85-year-old Dalit, assaulted
him and his son, and then set everything on fire. The mob targeted the houses
of Dalits in the village after a Thakur youth was killed, allegedly during
stone-pelting by Dalits over a rally to commemorate Maharana Pratap.Over 16
months later, Singh sits quietly on a charpoy in his courtyard. His house is
empty, except for a change of clothes. With the Rs 7,000 that he got as
compensation from the government, he is planning to first fix the doors, which
are currently covered by plastic sheets.The family once supplemented its income
with the work it got from Thakurs in the village. Singh’s son, who was injured
in the attack, is a daily wage labourer who used to work in the farms owned by
the Thakurs. “He now goes out of the village to work. We don’t work for Thakurs
anymore. We are used to living with less. But dignity is important,” says
Singh, with a smile.The incidents of arson and violence in Shabbirpur seem to
have caused a lasting social chasm in the village, despite the interdependency
of communities.The number of Dalit labourers working for Thakurs has reduced
considerably. Thakurs are now forced to work on their fields themselves, or
hire labour from outside the village.It was the May 2017 violence that
snowballed into an agitation in Saharanpur, and led to the birth of Bhim Army
founder Chandrashekhar as the new leader of Dalits in Western Uttar Pradesh.
Jailed for his alleged role in the violence that followed in Saharanpur,
Chandrashekhar was released on Friday, after over a year.While Dalits blame a
“Thakur” chief minister for the new-found aggression of the Rajputs, Thakurs feel
the rise of the Bhim Army has emboldened them, to the extent that they are
provoking them.Dal Singh (62) — his house was gutted and his wife injured in
one eye with a sword — now has a new house. Built with assistance from BSP
supremo Mayawati and local Congress politician Imran Masood, the house is yet
to get doors, for which he is awaiting assistance from the government.“How will
there be any settlement if Thakurs keep saying that they have to exact revenge.
No Thakur ever came to ask me what I had lost or to apologise for what they did
to my house. Earlier, quarrels of the morning would be settled by the evening.
Now, nobody is budging,” says Dal Singh.He alleges that the government has been
openly partisan, and that is why Thakurs are emboldened. “Local BJP MLA, who is
a Thakur, has never come and met a single Dalit villager. It shows where BJP
stands,” he says.indianexpress
Ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s wife says no
news of him since he was picked up on Sept 5
Gujarat Police on Sept.5 detained former IPS
officer Sanjiv Bhatt in Ahemdabad for questioning in a case relating to falsely
framing a lawyer in a criminal case in 1998. Sanjiv’s wife Shweta Bhatt on
September 15 has said that she had not heard from him after the police had picked
up Bhatt .“There is nothing for me to write today. I have no updates at all, I
don’t know as to how is Sanjiv, I have not seen him or heard from him in the
past 12 days. Today is the 12th day,” tweeted Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt.Shweta has
also tweeted a video saying “ I support Sanjiv Bhatt and my voice shall not be
silenced.”Bhatt was dismissed from the IPS in 2015 for taking on the then Chief
Minister Narendra Modi's administration for the 2002 Gujarat riots.In 2011,
Bhatt had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court accusing Modi of being
complicit in the 2002 riots.nationalheraldindia
No riots in country if title suit awarded to
Ramlalla: RSS leader ‘advises’ SC over Ram Mandir
New Delhi: With the Lok Sabha elections 2019
mere 8 months away, the issue of the construction of Ram Mandir on the disputed
land in Ayodhya seems to be back on the forefront for political parties. RSS
leader Indresh Kumar stirred a fresh controversy after he insisted that there
would be no riots across country “if the Supreme Court awards title to Ramlalla”.Supreme
Court is currently hearing matter in Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid dispute. RSS
leader said, “There will be no riot across the country if court awards title
suit to Ramlalla, paving way for construction of Ram Temple”. Kumar also asserted
that Babar was a “foreign invader” and was “not remotely related with Indian
Muslims.” He also claimed that evidence
of Ram Temple was found in excavations as well, which proved that a mosque was
indeed constructed after “demolishing a temple.” Recently, ex BJP MP and head
of Ram Janambhoomi Nyas, Vilas Vedanti said that the construction of the temple
will begin before 2019 and that the BJP has resolved to construct Ram Mandir.
Times Now
VHP questions PM Modi’s visit to Bohra mosque
Lucknow: 2 days after PM Narendra Modi visited
the Saifee mosque in Indore, Vishwa Hindu Parishad said on Sunday that
political leaders should keep the interests of Hindus at forefront since the
community formed the majority of Indian state. In his address to the Dawoodi
Bohra community, Modi had invoked Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet
Mohammad, to emphasise the need for peace and justice. VHP international
general secretary Milind Parande told reporters here that nobody knows what was
going in Modi’s mind when he visited the mosque.“Woh (Modi) masjid kyun gaye ye
poochhna padega... har kisi ko apni astha ke anusar kaam karna chahiye (We will
have to ask why he went to the mosque...everyone should work according to one’s
faith),” Parandesaid. “Anyone who wants to be in politics in this country will
have to think of the interests of Hindus, irrespective of the political party
to which one belongs,” he added. PTI
Pune based Muslim techie completes one month
of Satyagraha against forced termination
Advocate Shahid Nadeem, lawyer for legal cell
of Jamiat Ulma Maharashtra Mumbai has joined in supporting Aman Khan, the
techie who was forced to resign from his job in EXFO, Quebec-headquartered
multinational company in Magarpatta, Pune.Aaman Khan was harassed mentally by
his manager Kishore Kotecha for wearing ‘religious attire’ and for his
religious practises in office. The manager said that it was against the company
policy when Khan defended that it was his constitutional right to practise his
religion. Although there was no such policy of the company in reality.After
continuous harassment and threats from the senior Manager Kotecha, Khan was
forced to submit his resignation in the
month of June. But Khan however has written to the company at Canada
regarding their policy and has so far not received any reply. In the meantime
he has also sought intervention from the Labour Commission of India, collector
of Pune and Human rights activists.twocircles
Framed in Isro case, Maldivian woman to sue
Kerala cops, IB
CHENNAI: 2 days after the Supreme Court
ordered compensation of Rs 50 lakh to scientist Nambi Narayanan in the fake
‘Isro spy case’ and asked a judicial committee to probe the role of “erring
officers”, Mariam Rasheeda, the Maldivian whose arrest triggered the case in
1994, told TOI over phone from an undisclosed location she would sue the cops
and seek compensation.“I was tortured in custody to name Nambi Narayanan. I’ve
lost my reputation. I will not leave them,” Mariam said in her first interview
since 1998 when the SC exonerated her and six others accused of passing on
India’s rocket secrets to Pakistan. On Friday’s SC order, Rasheeda said the
compensation was too little for the loss of career and reputation Narayanan
suffered. CBI had recommended to the Centre and Kerala government that action
be taken against officers who tortured the accused.Rasheeda spent some
three-and-a-half years in jail in Kerala, from 1994 to 1998, till the SC
exonerated all the accused. CBI’s closure report came in 1996, but she remained
in jail because the Kerala government went to the SC seeking a further probe
and she chose to stay in prison due to safety concerns.Naming then special
investigation team head Siby Mathews (who later became DGP and Kerala chief
information commissioner) and then special branch inspector S Vijayan as those
who implicated her, Mariam Rasheeda said her lawyers would soon move the
appropriate court, but she wouldn’t come to India, which continues to give her
the shivers. Asked if she would depose before the Justice Jain committee
appointed by the SC, Rasheeda said she would consider that option after taking
legal opinion.When asked why she kept silent so far, Rasheeda said initially
she was in shock and scared. Later, she was made to believe that there was a
window period within which she had to file the case. “I thought the period was
over. Now, with the SC verdict, I realised that I can still sue them,” she
said. TOI
Militants barge into soldier’s house in
Kashmir, shoot him in the head: Cops
Srinagar:An army man was killed by suspected
militants in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Monday. Police said that a
group of militants barged into the house of Mukhtar Ahmad Malik, a Territorial
Army (TA) man, in Kashmir’s Shurat Kulgam and opened fire.“Malik was at home...
He was shot in his head,” said a police officer. Malik died before reaching the
hospital.He was posted in the state’s summer capital Srinagar with the
Territorial Army and was on leave.In June, Army soldier Aurangzeb was abducted
from a private vehicle when he was going home for Eid in Shopian. His body was
recovered from a Pulwama village.Meanwhile, life was affected in many parts of
Kashmir as separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin
Malik asked people to observe a shutdown against the civilian and 5 militant
killings in southern Kulgam district on Saturday.HT
Army jawan shoots two colleagues dead, commits
suicide in Himachal Pradesh
Dharamshala:An army jawan shot dead 2
colleagues before committing suicide in Dharamshala cantonment in Himachal
Pradesh in the wee hours on Monday.“A soldier of 18 Sikh Regiment ran amok in
the early hours shooting two of his colleagues before killing himself,” a
Kangra police official said.“Incident took place around 2:15am inside the
cantonment,”he added. Commanding officer of 18 Sikh Regiment, Col Navdeep Brar,
when contacted, said prima facie it seems Jasbir Singh, who was on guard duty,
had an argument with the other two soldiers after coming back, and shot them in
a fit of rage. Later he turned the gun on himself.Sepoy Jasbir Singh fired at
Havaldar Hardeep Singh and Naik Harpal Singh with his INSAS rifle before
shooting himself.HT
Supreme Court orders protection for halala,
polygamy petitioner attacked with acid
New Delhi:Uttar Pradesh Police has been
ordered to ensure the safety of a woman who was attacked with acid last week
for allagedly refusing to accept triple talaq and undergo nikah halala. SSP of
Bulandshahr would be held liable for the safety and security of Shabnam Rani,
the Supreme Court said on Monday.She is one of the petitioners in the
nikah-halala and polygamy case in the Supreme Court. The attack took place
while she was on her way to file a complaint after being allegedly assaulted by
her in-laws on Wednesday.She has been living with her in-laws in Bulandshahr
despite the talaq.
Parrikar unwell, Congress stakes claim to form
government in Goa
Panaji: With CM Manohar Parrikar hospitalised,
Goa's main opposition, Congress, submitted a memorandum to governor Mridula
Sinha on Monday, staking claim to form an alternate government.The move came at
a time when the BJP high command has sent three senior leaders - Ram Lal, B L
Santhosh and Vinay Puranik - in Panaji to meet the state party leaders and
allies to take stock of the political situation.Parrikar, 62, who is suffering
from a pancreatic ailment, is currently admitted in AIIMS in New Delhi for
treatment.Congress, which has 16 members in 40-member state assembly, submitted
a memorandum to the governor, urging her not to dissolve the assembly and
instead invite the party to form the government, leader of opposition
Chandrakant Kavlekar said.The state is being ruled by the BJP-led alliance.BJP
has 14 seats in the assembly, its allies Goa Forward Party and MGP have three
each. 3 Independents and an MLA from Nationalist Congress Party also support
the BJP.All the 16 Congress MLAs, led by Kavlekar, went to the Raj Bhavan but
could not meet the governor as she is out of the state."The party urged
the governor not to consider dissolution of the state legislative assembly,
which is a possibility considering internal fighting in the ruling alliance and
illness of Parrikar," Kavlekar told PTI.He said the Congress has support
of legislators from other parties and can form the government, if given a
chance by the governor. PTI
Imran Khan has been propped up by the Pakistan
Army:VK Singh
New Delhi :Union minister V K Singh said on
Monday that the army still rules Pakistan despite the election of Imran Khan as
the new prime minister, adding that it remains to be seen whether “the person”
will be able to bring about a change. India is adopting a “wait and watch”
approach after the installation of a new government in Pakistan, the minister
of state for external affairs said.Responding to a question on incidents of
infiltration at the border after the change of government in Pakistan, he said,
“Did you all expect a change? I don’t know. After all, the person has been
propped up by the (Pakistan) army. The army still rules. So, let’s wait and
watch how things go — whether the person remains under army control or doesn’t
remain under its control.” He, however, did not refer to Khan by name.PTI
WORLD
600,000 Palestinians harmed as US closes PLO’s
office
Some 600,000 Palestinian-Americans were harmed
by the closure of the PLO’s office in Washington, Quds Press reported
yesterday.A statement released by the Palestinian Council in the United State
said that the closure of PLO’s office “is another American step towards
liquidating the Palestinians issue”.“The consequences of the closure of the
PLO’s office included humanitarian factors related to the consulate
services.”The council condemned the US’ decision saying it comes in line with
America’s move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and removing the holy
city off the negotiating table.In addition, the statement accused the current
American administration of siding with the most right-wing Israeli government,
“which continues its measures towards liquidating the Palestinian issue and
reinforcing the Zionist entity as a regional power.”The statement also accused
the US administration of legalising Israeli settlements and calling off the
two-state solution.middleeastmonitor
US revokes visas of PLO ambassador's family
US has revoked visas for the family of PLO's
ambassador in Washington, DC, the latest measure against Palestinian officials
by the Trump administration. Ambassador Husam Zomlot said his family, including
his two young children, had left the US after they were informed that their
visas, which were due to expire in 2020 were no longer valid.The move follows
the US announcement last week to close diplomatic offices belonging to the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation, which will take effect next month. Hanan
Ashrawi, a member of PLO's executive committee, condemned the decision to
cancel visas for Zomlot's family."As if the announcement that the US would
close our office in Washington, DC was not enough, this vindictive action by
the Trump administration is spiteful," Ashrawi said in a statement.Zomlot
said in an interview that two of his embassy employees met last week with State
Department staff, who had requested the meeting."State Department informed
our colleagues, as part of the discussion on the closure, that the visas of my wife
and children are dependent on PLO delegation and as such will not be valid
after the closure of the office and that if they wanted to stay they would have
to change their immigration status," Zomlot said.aljazeera
US cuts aid to 'Palestine-Israel' conflict resolution
programmes
US has cut additional aid to the Palestinians
for programmes supporting conflict resolution with Israelis, adding to more
than $500m in other cuts.The latest cuts come from $10m in programmes on
reconciliation involving Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as
well as Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel.The portion of the money
involving Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip was being
redirected to programmes between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, a US
embassy official said on Sunday. It was not clear how much of the $10m was
being redirected.US officials also could not confirm whether the latest cut
meant all non-military related aid to the Palestinians had now been
eliminated."As announced in August, the administration redirected more
than $200 million that was originally planned for programmes in the West Bank
and Gaza," a US embassy official said.aljazeera
Imran Khan pledges citizenship to Afghan and
Bangladeshi refugees
Karachi: Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged
to implement existing Pakistani laws that would grant citizenship to all Afghan
and Bangladeshi refugees who were born on Pakistani soil, a major departure
from previous policy. Pakistan is home to more than 1.39 million registered
Afghan refugees, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), many of whom have been resident in the country for more than 30
years.There are also more than 200,000 ethnic Bangladeshis in Pakistan, most of
whom live in the southern city of Karachi. Many of them were stranded in the
city after the war in 1971 when Bangladesh, then East Pakistan, gained
independence. Afghan refugees, meanwhile, have poured into Pakistan from its
western neighbour for decades, first fleeing the Soviet invasion in the 1970s,
and then the civil war that ensued.Since 2001, a fresh influx of refugees
followed the US invasion of Afghanistan, and the subsequent Taliban war to take
back the country."These poor migrants from Bangladesh, they have been here
for more than 40 years, their children are grown now … we will give them
passports and ID cards, as well as those Afghans whose children have been
raised here, who were born here, we will also give them [citizenship],"
said Khan in Karachi on Sunday."This happens in every country in the
world, why is it that here we are inflicting such an injustice on these
people?"The announcement is a marked departure from the policy followed by
previous governments, and could see the prime minister face confrontation with
the country's powerful military, which has often blamed Afghan refugees for
violence in Pakistan. UNHCR welcomed the development, but said it was awaiting
specifics on how Khan's government intended to move forward.aljazeera
Bannon: Saudi, Egypt, UAE prepared to occupy
Qatar
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were planning to
invade and occupy Qatar, remarks made by the Former White House chief
strategist Steve Bannon confirm.Made 10 months ago, during a meeting at Hudson
Institute, a conservative American think tank, Bannon said US President Donald
Trump’s summit with Arab leaders in Riyadh held in May discussed a plan to
occupy Qatar. His comments only surfaced this weekend.“We went into the summit
with UAE, Saudi Arabia and others; the number one thing was that we must take
care of this financing of radical Islam, and there can be no more – as
President Trump said – no more games,” Bannon said.“You can’t have it both
ways. You can’t on one side say you are a friend and an ally and on the other
side be financing the Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas,” he added, referring to
Qatar.“I do not think it’s just by happenstance that two weeks after that
summit, you saw the blockade by UAE and Bahrain, Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia on Qatar,” Bannon said.middleeastmonitor
Erdogan says Putin meeting will bring 'new
hope' to Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
his Monday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Syrian war will
bring new hope, as he touched down in Sochi for the summit.The two leaders, who
back opposing sides in Syria’s seven-year war, are coming together in an ad hoc
meeting in the Russian resort city as tensions over the rebel-held Idlib
province skyrocket.The Syrian government, backed by Russian air power, appears
to be poised to stage an assault on the last major opposition bastion.Turkey,
which borders Idlib, supports some rebel groups there and has grave concern
over the effects of an operation in the province that holds some 3 million
people.Speaking ahead of the meeting, Erdogan played up the content of the
joint statement that he is due to issue with Putin, though did not reveal any
of its contents.Erdogan and Putin met 10 days ago in Tehran alongside Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani, where the Turkish leader publicly called for a
ceasefire.Turkish daily Hurriyet on Monday quoted Erdogan as saying he believed
his words in the Iranian capital had had a positive effect."The situation
in Idlib has been calm for three days. It looks like we obtained a result with
the efforts which were made," the newspaper quoted the president as
telling reporters on a flight back from Azerbaijan at the weekend. "But we
are still not satisfied.”middleeasteye
US: No secret meeting of Trump’s envoy and
Qasem Soleimani
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180916-us-no-secret-meeting-of-trumps-envoy-and-qasem-soleimani/
US Embassy in Iraq has denied reports of a
secret meeting between Iran’s commander of Quds Force, Major General Qasem Soleimani, and American
Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh Brett
McGurk, last Tuesday.Through its official Twitter account, the US Embassy in
Iraq denied the validity of the news and confirmed that such information is
totally misleading. The Embassy is aware of false media reports that Special
Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk and an Iranian General met to discuss forming a
new Iraqi government.US Embassy Spokesman Charles Cole said in a statement: “US
Embassy has noticed the circulation of wrong media reports about a meeting
between special presidential envoy Brett McGurk and an Iranian general to
discuss the formation of the new Iraqi government. Such news is baseless, and
there has never been such a meeting.”Based on sources familiar with the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps, Al-Kuwaityah newspaper reported in its September 15
edition that the meeting held between Major General Qasem Soleimani and Brett
McGurk followed an indirect mutual exchange of messages.middleeastmonitor
Number of prisoners of conscience in Saudi increases
to 2,613
The number of prisoners of conscience in Saudi
Arabia has increased to 2,613 detainees, according to Saudi human rights
sources.The Twitter account of Prisoners of Conscience concerned with the
detainees in Saudi Arabia stated in a tweet that: “the number of prisoners of
conscience in Saudi Arabia has increased to 2,613 detainees.”Twitter account
added that “prominent lawyers, judges, academics, Muslim scholars, and media
professionals” were among the detainees.It is noteworthy that there are
detainees in the Kingdom who have been imprisoned for more than 10 years either
under sentences approved by the court against them or without charges and
judicial rulings. Since September 10, 2017, there have been hundreds of arrests
in Saudi Arabia, despite human rights activists’ denunciation, and calls from
international organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International to immediately release detainees, and precedent calls to immediately
disclose their whereabouts and allow them to communicate with their families
and lawyers.MEMO
'Why were they killed?': Saudi-UAE attack hits
children in Yemen
After sifting through a home turned to rubble,
rescue workers finally found the bodies of 3-year-old Nabil and new-born baby
girl Sumood.Just moments earlier on Saturday, a Saudi-UAE military alliance,
which has been carrying out air attacks on Yemen since March 2015, bombed their
home in Saada province's Marran district, an impoverished area less than 40km
from oil-rich Saudi Arabia, footage sent to Al Jazeera by Houthi rebels
appeared to show."These were civilians, they were little kids," said
one of the rescuers, as their lifeless bodies lay strewn next to him on a
rock."What was their guilt, why were they killed?" said another, who
managed to rescue other members of their family after the devastating
attack.Local news channel Saada News reported that the children were from an
internally displaced family who had recently relocated to Marran after their
home was previously destroyed.But in what has become the norm for millions of
Yemenis, families have had to repeatedly resettle when the sounds of planes
pass overhead and bombs dropping intensify.aljazeera
Saudi King, Guterres discuss global peace,
stability
JEDDAH:Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz on
Sunday met the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.The Saudi monarch received
Guterres at his office in the kingdom's western city of Jeddah, the Saudi
official news agency (SPA) reported.The two sides, according to the SPA,
discussed "the developments on the international scene, and various
efforts aimed at achieving global peace and stability."Ethiopian Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki also arrived in Saudi
Arabia on Saturday for a signing ceremony of a historic peace accord between
the two countries.The SPA said that King Salman invited Guterres to attend the
signing of the agreement between the two African countries, without mentioning
the date of the ceremony.Anadolu Agency
Swiss open rape investigation against Tariq
Ramadan
Prosecutors in Geneva have opened a rape and
sexual misconduct investigation against Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who has
been detained in France since February on separate rape charges, Swiss media
reported on Sunday.The arrest of the influential academic - a regular on TV
debates with more than two million Facebook followers - has rocked the French
Muslim community. The married father of four has rejected the accusations,
saying he is the victim of a smear campaign.The Tribune de Geneve newspaper
cited justice ministry spokesman Henri Della Casa as saying that authorities
had decided to open a formal criminal inquiry into allegations that Ramadan
raped a woman in a Geneva hotel in 2008."I confirm the opening of an
inquiry," the paper quoted Della Casa as saying, a key step that indicated
the authorities believed the allegations merit further investigation. The
accuser lodged her complaint in April."The prosecutors and Geneva police
have worked quickly and worked well," Romain Jordan, the lawyer representing
Ramadan's Swiss accuser, told AFP in an email.He described the decision to open
a criminal inquiry as "a major advance" that "demonstrates the
seriousness of the allegations made by our client".Ramadan, a Swiss
citizen and Oxford University professor whose grandfather founded Egypt's
Muslim Brotherhood movement, has not yet been interviewed by Swiss
prosecutors.Jordan said that following the opening of a criminal case, Swiss
investigators will now travel to France to hear Ramadan's side of case.56-year-old
scholar,a prominent figure, has previously denied any sexual relations with the
2 women in France, saying he met with each of them only once and in public
places. middleeasteye
FLASH VIEWS & NEWS
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meant to suppress dissent:Suhas Palshikar
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 6:45 PM)
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