07 SEPT. 2019: 07 MUHARRAM 1441:
Vol: 12, No: 06
INDIA
Setback to moon mission as link to lander lost: Did
Vikram lose control, crash land on to Moon after tumble?
Chennai: Did India's first moon lander Vikram
crash on to lunar surface resulting in the sudden snapping of communication
link with Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter? Officials of ISRO agree to the possibility of
such an event as the lander had tumbled and regained its posture minutes before
it was supposed to set its legs on the lunar surface.All was going well with
the 1,471 kg Vikram that had begun its descent at about 1.38 a.m. on Saturday
from an altitude of 30 km at a velocity of 1,680 metres per second.The lander
was coming down smoothly, making the ISRO officials applaud at regular
intervals with their faces beaming with pride, as they were glued to their
computer monitors.The lander successfully completed its rough braking phase
with its descent speed going down well.On the telemetry screen at ISRO
Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) centre in Bengaluru, it was
noticed that Vikram had slightly veered away from its plotted path but had
immediately come back.Soon after, Vikram again shifted from its planned path
and then communication link got snapped. Announcing snapping of communication
links, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said the performance of the lander was as per the
plan till it was 2.1 km away from its designated landing spot on the Moon's
South Pole.The communication link got snapped after that. The data is being
analysed, he added. At an altitude of about 5 km from the lunar surface, lander
slightly veered off its plotted path and came back to its original path
immediately."Just before loss of communication link, lander tumbled but
recovered immediately. And after that the communication signals snapped. That
means the lander in its trajectory lost its position," an ISRO official
told IANS on the condition of anonymity."As per landing sequence, the
liquid apogee engine would be firing. When the lander is in an upside down
position, if the engine is on fire then its descent will be faster," he
added.To a question as to why Vikram had tumbled and was it due to the uneven
functioning of its throttleable engines, the officials did not rule out the
possibility.Speaking to IANS on condition of anonymity, another ISRO official
said: "Lander could have lost its control when its thrusters were switched
off during its descent and crash-landed, snapping the communication links. The
vehicle will lose its stability if the thrusters do not work in unison."
Meanwhile, all is not lost as far as Rs 978 crore Chandrayaan-2 mission is
concerned."Only 5 % of the mission has been lost -- Vikram the lander and
Pragyan the rover -- while the remaining 95 % -- that is the Chandrayaan-2
orbiter -- is orbiting the moon successfully," an ISRO official, who did
not wish to be named, told IANS.
India lost contact with its moon lander, an
astronomer thinks it crashed into lunar surface
J&K ISSUE
Concerned over J&K detentions… govt should
hold polls at earliest: US
A month after political leaders were detained and
communication restrictions put in place in J&K, US has expressed concern
over the “widespread detentions” and “urged” Indian authorities to “respect
human rights”. Washington has also asked Indian authorities to “resume
political engagement with local leaders” and hold “elections at the earliest”.
This is the strongest statement by Trump administration so far on the Centre’s
move to scrap J&K’s special status. It comes after Donald Trump had said on
Aug.26 that he had discussed the issue on Aug.25 over dinner and had said that
PM Narendra Modi “really feels he has it under control”. There was no official
statement from New Delhi in response to US State Dept’s comments. Responding to
questions, State Dept.spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said: “We continue to be very
concerned by widespread detentions, including of local political and business
leaders, and the restrictions on the residents of the region. We are also
concerned about reports that Internet and mobile phone access continues to be
blocked in certain regions.”“We urge authorities to respect human rights and
restore access to services such as Internet and mobile networks. We look
forward to Indian govt’s resumption of political engagement with local leaders
and the scheduling of promised elections at the earliest opportunity.”This is a
clear evolution of US administration’s position,especially weeks before PM is
scheduled to travel to US for UNGA. Friday’s comments – released by US embassy
in Delhi – indicate that this approach is very different from the US position
on Aug 6, when it had said that they “take note” that Indian govt has described
these actions as strictly an internal matter. Indianexpress
US State Department stand at variance with
Trump’s remark on Kashmir
US tells Muslim bodies it backs direct Indo-Pak
dialogue
A delegation of US Council of Muslim
Organisations (USMCO) that met a senior State Department official dealing with
Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue has been told that Washington backs direct
talks between New Delhi and Islamabad on Kashmir." US continues to support
direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on Kashmir and other issues of
concern -- a message stressed in Deputy Assistant Secretary Massinga's recent meeting
with USCMO leadership," Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central
Asia, Alice G. Wells, tweeted. Erwin Massinga is in-charge of Pakistan Affairs
within the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.PTI
Kashmir situation will be on agenda during talks
with Prez Kovind: Swiss govt
Ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to
Switzerland, European country has said situation in Kashmir and other regional
matters will be among the issues that will be discussed during the meetings
that Indian leader will have with the top Swiss officials. Kovind will embark
on a three-nation tour next week, covering Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia,
from Sept.9 onwards and will be back in Bern on Sept.13.PTI
Pakistan denies President Kovind’s request to use
its airspace for his flight to Iceland
Pakistan had refused a request by India to allow
President Ram Nath Kovind to use its airspace for his flight to Iceland,
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday. The decision was
approved by PM Imran Khan in view of the tense situation in Kashmir, the
Minister said.PTI
Open to talk terror without ‘gun pointed at my
head’: EAM S Jaishankar on dialogue with Pakistan
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said
that India was open to talks with Pakistan provided it is done in a “civilised
manner”, PTI reported. He said the talks must be done “without having the gun
[of terrorism] pointed at my head”. Jaishankar said most countries viewed
India’s recent decisions with regard to J&K as an internal matter and
accepted that countries make such changes.“They think it’s an Indian issue,”HT
quoted him as saying. “They are aware, in part from reactions, that Pakistan is
saying some pretty strong things about it. The general sentiment is that if
there are issues at all, India and Pakistan should sit down and sort it
out.”scroll.in
Pak will give ‘fullest possible response’ to
India over Kashmir, world responsible for catastrophic aftermath: Imran Khan
Pakistan will make the fullest possible response
to India’s actions in disputed Kashmir and global community would be
responsible for any “catastrophic” aftermath, PM Imran Khan, said.The rhetoric
on the annual Defence Day remembrance of Pakistan’s fighters in a 1965 war with
India underscores rising tension between the nuclear-armed foes after New Delhi
last month revoked the autonomy of its part of disputed Kashmir.“I have
informed the world that Pakistan does not want war, but at the same time,
Pakistan cannot remain oblivious to the challenges posed to its security and
integrity”, Khan said in a statement on the website of state-run Radio
Pakistan.“We are prepared to give the enemy the fullest possible response.
Failing, the world community will be responsible for the catastrophic
aftermath”, he added. This week Khan had said war between South Asian
neighbours was a risk, but Pakistan would not act first. Pakistan will never
abandon Kashmir, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa told a defence function
in the city of Rawalpindi. “We are ready to give sacrifice for our Kashmiri
brothers, will fulfill our duty till last bullet, last soldiers and last
breath”, he said in a televised speech. “And we are prepared to go till any
extent”, he added.Reuters
Pak fighters in biggest ‘real-combat level’ drill
with China months after post-Balakot dogfight with India
Beijing:Over 50 Chinese and Pakistani fighter
aircrafts completed most comprehensive and “confrontational” 2-week long joint
exercises in northwestern China on Friday, a drill described by a military
observer as “real-combat level”.15-day drill was the biggest joint air force
exercise involving the Chinese and fighter aircrafts from a foreign country,
the Chinese military said, adding it was also the most comprehensive in terms
of equipment used and involved the most “complete combat unit”.The large-scale
Sino-Pak air exercise was held at an undisclosed location in northwestern China
months after Indian and Pakistani air forces engaged in a dogfight near LoC
following Indian air strikes in Balakot. The annual joint training drill
code-named “Shaheen (Eagle) VIII” was kicked off on Aug 23 and ended Friday
with both sides practicing “…air superiority, suppression of ground targets,
air attack and joint air defense training,” a Chinese air force statement
carried by news website Thepaper.cn said. Though an annual drill, this edition
was the most comprehensive ever.“This joint training has realised the
integration and unification of all forces and various types of troops….They
(the personnel) feel that the two sides are constantly working together, the
command planning capability is getting stronger and stronger, and the actual
combat atmosphere is more intense,” the statement said.HT
Amid tension at LoC, India-Pak armies join hands
for war games in Russia
New Delhi:Amid growing hostility between India
and Pakistan, the armies of the 2 counties will be participating in war games
in Russia along with several other nations, including China starting
Sept.9.TSENTR-2019 strategic measures will focus on evaluating the level of
troop preparedness, the acquisition of the required skills and raising the
level of inter-operability and demonstrate the readiness of the participating
armies, an Indian Army statement said. 2-week exercise scheduled between Sept.
9 and Sept.23, called Exercise TSENTR 2019, is part of the annual series of
large-scale exercises that form part of Russian Armed Forces' annual training
cycle.indiatoday
4 journalists injured while covering Muharram procession
in Srinagar
4
journalists were injured after police charged against media professionals in
Srinagar’s Hassan Abad locality here on Saturday. One of the journalists also
received pellet injuries during the incident.The journalists entered the area
to cover Muharram procession, a yearly rally carried out by Shia Muslims across
the world. The mourners, however, this year have been banned to carry out these
processions.Among the injured, Shahid Khan said, “We were caught unawares when
police started beating us without any provocation.”Khan, who works for a
Jammu-based daily, has received severe bruises on his back.Another journalist,
who wished not to be named, was fired at with pellet gun. “I received pellets
on my back and in the head from behind,” he says. The journalist says he was
lucky enough to save his eyes from the pellets.Also, among injured are 2
freelance photojournalists who claimed they were beaten up by police despite
being outside the procession. During the incident, the camera of Yasrab Khan, a
video journalist with ANN news channel, was also broken during the commotion,
he said.NewsClick
'Pathetic Attempt to Silence Me': Shehla Rashid
Booked For Sedition Over Kashmir Tweets
New Delhi: J&K People’s Movement leader
Shehla Rashid has been booked for sedition over her tweets in which she alleged
that Armed Forces tortured civilians and ransacked houses in the Valley after
J&K’s special status was revoked, police said on Friday. Rashid has called
the charge “frivolous, politically motivated and a pathetic attempt to silence”
her.The case was registered barely a day after reports emerged of the Delhi
govt having that it will not be granting police sanction to prosecute former
JNU students – including Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and 9 others – who were
charged with sedition after an event on campus in Feb. 2016. Like Kumar and
Khalid, Rashid was a prominent student leader in the University and was, at
that time, JNU students’ union vice-president.The state’s home department said
that students should not be prosecuted because their activities “do not amount
to sedition against the state”.Rashid has also been charged with spreading
“fake news” with the intention to “malign the image of Indian Army”, police
told PTI on Friday. thewire
AMU issues show cause notices to four Kashmiri
students for holding protest on campus
Aligarh: 4 Kashmiri students at AMU have been
served show cause notices by the authorities for holding a protest at the
campus, official sources said on Friday. The action comes a day after a group
of Kashmiri students had taken out a march from the AMU library to the
Bab-e-Syed gate and raised slogans against the alleged atrocities by the
security forces in J&K during the past one month.In separate notices to the
students, AMU proctor Afifullah Khan has asked them to submit their replies
within the next 48 hours or else they could face disciplinary action for having
organised the "illegal gathering".The protesters had also said they
had still not been able to contact their families. PTI
Fully convinced that most Kashmiris support
Article 370 dilution: NSA Ajit Doval
NSA Ajit Doval Saturday said that he is “fully
convinced” that a majority of Kashmiris support the abrogation of Article 370,
and affirmed that restrictions in Kashmir are aimed at preventing Pakistan from
creating more mischief through proxies and terrorists, reported PTI. He also
said that at least 92.5% of the geographical area of J&K is free of
restrictions.In a wide-ranging interaction with a select group of journalists,
Doval said, “In the removal of Article 370, “they (Kashmiris) see greater
opportunities, a better future, more jobs for youths. There is a vocal minority
that opposes it. It appears to people that that is the voice of the people.
That is not necessarily true.”On the situation in the Valley, Doval said
landline connections are fully operational in the state and restrictions eased.
“Restrictions have anyway been eased progressively, and only 10 of 199 police
districts in Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh now still have prohibitory orders, while
land-line telephones have been restored fully in all 3 areas.”indianexpress
OTHERS
2001 hate speech case: Gujarat Police arrests
SIMI ex-chief Shahid Badr in Azamgarh; local court grants bail
Lucknow: A team of Gujarat Police arrested
49-year-old Dr Shahid Badr Falahi, ex president of SIMI, from his residence in
Azamgarh district Thursday, in connection with a case of alleged hate speech
registered against him in Kutch district in 2001. Gujarat police produced
Shahid Badr before a local court of Azamgarh that granted him interim bail and
also directed him to appear before a court in Kutch by Sept.13. Falahi was
released Friday evening after he completed legal formalities by depositing 2
sureties as directed by the court. In 2001, the case against Badr was lodged at
Bhuj police station in Kutch under IPC sections 353 and 143 (unlawful assembly), said the
in-charge of Bhuj police station MN Chauhan, adding that a local court in 2002
had issued a warrant against him.“A team of Gujarat Police had gone to Azamgarh
to arrest Shahid Badr,” said Chauhan.SHO, City Kotwali police station, Anil
Singh said the team reached Azamgarh on Thursday and arrested Badr from his
residence in the evening. He was brought to the police station and on Friday
morning produced before a local court, added Singh. Badr’s lawyer Abdul Khaliq
said, “Gujarat police had sought transit remand of my client and we objected on
ground that charges levelled against Shahid Badr is a bailable offence. Shahid
Badr was not aware about the case and why they did not execute the court for
the past 7 years.” Shahid Badr, a unani doctor, is a resident of Manchuba
locality in Azamgarh and used to run a clinic in the city.“Shahid Badr’s lawyer
raised an objection stating that charges on which he was booked was bailable
offence. The court granted him interim bail and asked to deposit 2 sureties of
Rs 1 lakh each. The court also directed him appear before a court in Gujrat by
Aug.13. Till then, he would be under the watch of district police,” said govt
counsel, Azamgarh, Ved Prakash Verma. “Shahid Badr has been asked to report to
the police station daily till he has to go to Gujarat for appearance before a
local court in the case,” said Abdul Khaliq. When contacted, Badr said, “I had
gone to Kutch in 2001 to address a meeting. I was not aware that a case was
then filed against me. I got to know about it when police team reached my house
Thursday.”He claimed that of the total 7 cases against him, he was acquitted in
4 – 3 cases in Delhi and one in Bahraich. indianexpress
Icons of 2002 communal discord Qutubuddin
Ansari, Ashok Mochi now a picture of
religious harmony
Ahmedabad :Marking a fresh start, Ashok Parmar
alias Ashok Mochi, (45), a photo of whose saffron-bandana-clad,
iron-rod-wielding self after 2002 Godhra train burning had become a
photographic reminder of the carnage, opened a shoe shop in the city Friday.
Cutting the ribbon to mark the inauguration of the shop was Qutubuddin Ansari,
a tailor recognisable for his photo seen pleading for help on Feb. 28, 2002
during the riots. Mochi has been repairing shoes for over 25 years on the
footpath near the Delhi Darwaza. “With the Metro construction, whatever little
I used to earn, even that was affected. Say from Rs 300 per day, I could barely
make Rs 150 per day,” he told this paper on Friday. Funds for Mochi’s shop,
named ‘Ekta Chappal Ghar’, as well as initial funding for carrying out his
business, have been provided by CPI (M) in Kerala.For now, Mochi will be
selling ready-made shoes, bought from the wholesale market of Ahmedabad. There
isn’t any specific vendor tie-up but subsequently Mochi expects to find one,
including vendors from Delhi, which has a more expansive wholesale
market.Qutubuddin Ansari, who was the guest of honour at Mochi’s shop opening,
had temporarily settled in West Bengal in the aftermath of the riots. Ansari, a
tailor, was caught on camera pleading to RAF personnel for help, from his home
on Narol-Naroda road on Feb.28, 2002, when the riots were at its peak in Naroda
Patiya area of Ahmedabad. Picture of his blood stained shirt and his
tear-filled eyes became the image that spoke for the victims of Gujarat
riots.Ansari is wary of disclosing when he returned to the city but says he
came back after “things became normal”.Ansari continues to work as a tailor
with a workshop set up at his home, procuring ready-made cloth from cloth
markets. “I do the stitching and sewing labour and then sell it at the same
market. I get the labour wages,” says Ansari.Mochi had joined Dalit Azaadi
Kooch in Gujarat in 2017 to fight for the rights of his community after the
public flogging of Dalits in Una. Seen cutting a busy figure of a warm host at
the inauguration of his shop, Mochi points out, “This is the Hindu varna system
that continues to keep me stuck as a cobbler. They don’t let us move ahead.”indianexpress
Gujarat riots: State govt to table final part of
Nanavati panel report in budget session
The state govt Friday told Gujarat High Court
that it will table Justice G T Nanavati and Justice Akshay Mehta Commission’s
final report on 2002 Gujarat riots during the Assembly’s budget session. The
final report was handed over by the commission to the then CM Anandiben Patel
in Nov.2014, months after Narendra Modi became the PM. The statement by the
state govt through advocate general Kamal Trivedi was submitted in response to
a public interest litigation filed by retired DGP R B Sreekumar on Aug.30.
Advocate General Kamal Trivedi’s statement before the high court said, “While
categorically denying all the averments and allegations of the petitioner, it
is stated that Part-I of Report of Justices Nanavati-Mehta Commission has
already been tabled on 25.09.2009 (sic) in Assembly and it has already been
decided to table Part-II of the said report in the ensuing budget session of
the legislative assembly.” The first part of the report that mainly dealt with
the case was handed over by Justices Nanavati and Mehta to then CM Narendra
Modi in Sept.2008, and was tabled in the state assembly immediately. This
report gave a clean chit to Modi and his govt.indian express
Muzaffarnagar riots: Absconding accused turns
himself in after 6 months
Ravindra
Singh, who is one of 6 accused in Shahnawaz murder case which had triggered
Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, surrendered before a court on Friday. A local
court has already framed charges against five other accused and they are in
jail. Ravindra is the father of Gaurav, one of the two cousins who were killed
in retaliation to Shahnawaz’s murder in August 2013. 25-year-old Shahnawaz was stabbed to death
allegedly by a group of eight persons following a tiff over some issue in Kawal
village. Soon after the murder, a crowd caught 2 of the attackers, Gaurav and
Sachin, and lynched them. On Friday morning, Ravindra surrendered before chief
judicial magistrate court, from where he was sent to prison.The court had
booked all the accused for murder, rioting and several other stringent sections
of IPC. In June last year, the district court had rejected the clean chit given
by SIT to the accused. TOI
SC to review amendments in Anti-Terror Law
The Supreme Court on Friday sought Centre’s
response on a PIL urging it to declare unconstitutional UAPA Act, 2019,
notified by Centre to designate an individual as a terrorist.The top court
today said that it will examine the constitutional validity of the amendment
and issued notice to the Centre. The bench was headed by Chief Justice Ranjan
Gogoi. PIL, filed by a resident of Delhi, Sajal Awasthi, said that the Act is
in violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (right to
equality), 19 (right to free speech and expression) and 21 (right to life) in
the Constitution.The petition contends that the new section 35 of UAPA Act
allows the Centre to categorise any individual as a terrorist and add the
person’s identity in Schedule 4 of the Act. Therefore, this leads to the
accumulation of huge powers which is unfettered and unbound and antithesis to
Article 14 of the Constitution.thestatesman
Malegaon Blasts: SC rejects plea against Bombay
HC order holding appeals of accused maintainable
The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging a Bombay High
Court order that held that appeals of various accused including Lt. Col. Prasad
Purohit and Pragya Singh Thakur against framing of charges in the 2008 Malegaon
blast case were “maintainable”.The HC on March 5 had rejected the statutory
plea of NIA that it cannot hear appeals of the accused under section 21 (1) NIA
Act as an order of framing of charges was an interlocutory or an interim order
and not a final one.It rejected NIA’s plea that special court’s order of
framing of charges against Purohit and others was an “interlocutory” one and
hence, the appeals of accused under the specific provision were not
maintainable before the high court.PTI
Counting of votes for JNUSU polls begins
JNUSU polls began on Saturday after an 11-hour
delay due to a deadlock between the students and the administration, the
varsity's Election Committee said. After the Delhi high court on Friday
restrained JNU from notifying the election results till Sept. 17,it was decided
at a meeting between student-run Election Committee (EC) and all the parties
around 10 pm to go ahead with the counting, it said.The counting process began
at 11:55 pm, JNU EC chairman Shashank Patel said. However, it had to be put on
hold due to a deadlock between student community and JNU's Grievance Redressal
Cell (GRC) over the latter's demand that the counting agents give a written
undertaking stating they would not disclose the results, he said." EC
tried its best to convince GRC to change its stand based on the demands of the
student community," Patel said, adding that the deadlock led to an 11-hour
delay in counting process.When a consensus could not be reached even after so
many hours, the EC decided to resume the counting of votes anyway with
declaration of trends, EC chairman said. Result, however, will be put on hold,
he added.TOI
As BJP protests, Kejriwal says no decision on JNU
sedition case yet
New Delhi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal today
clarified that the Delhi govt has not taken a decision on whether it would
grant sanction or not for the prosecution of former JNU Student’s Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and
others in a 2016 sedition case.The announcement came within hours of multiple
media reports claiming that the Delhi govt had decided to not grant sanction –
news that led BJP to protest outside Kejriwal’s home.It was reported by the
media that Delhi govt has stated that it would not allow the prosecution of JNU
students in connection with a protest demonstration which was held in the
university campus in Feb.2016.On the reasons behind the refusal for sanction, a
report by Indian Express stated, was that the home department believes that the
students – Kanhaiya, Umar and 8 others – should not be prosecuted as their
activities “do not amount to sedition against the State”.It also noted that the
department found the evidence on record to be “flimsy” and filled with
“gaps”.The report said govt had taken advice from standing counsel (criminal)
Rahul Mehra. It also reached conclusion that prosecution may “jeopardise life
of the chargesheeted persons, who are all students”.Quoting from a file noting,
another report, in HT, said the Delhi govt decided that: “The case does not
amount to sedition against the state and an attack on the sovereignty of the
nation by inciting violence and no case for prosecution under Section 124A of
IPC made against the 10 accused persons chargesheeted in the instant case.”Though
the next hearing of the case is on Sept.18 and there was no need to issue a
clarification on the subject just yet, Kejriwal chose to address the issue
upfront as political pressure was mounted on him by the BJP, which even held a
protest demonstration outside his residence. thewire
NRC coordinator was not efficient in updating
final list, Congress leader Tarun Gogoi writes to CJI
Senior Congress leader Tarun Gogoi has written to
CJI Ranjan Gogoi, complaining that National Register of Citizens coordinator
Prateek Hajela had not discharged his duty efficiently. This came days after 2
cases were filed against Hajela for allegedly excluding bonafide Indians from
the updated citizens’ list deliberately.“Now the question arises about the
fates of several lakh people who have been left out of the NRC and have to move
to foreigners’ tribunals to prove their citizenship and face harassment, not
due to their faults but due to the callousness and inefficiency of NRC
authority,” Gogoi said in his letter. scroll.in
Man proves
he is a citizen twice in court, yet his name dropped from NRC
“This Goalpara detention centre is being built
for people like me. The officials will ensure that I will be picked up and
detained even if I have all the documents,” explained Surman Ali, a businessman
who is currently on run.NRC is exclusionary and was made to discriminate
against the citizens of the country. Even if you are on the NRC list or even if
you have all the documents, if an objection is filed against your citizenship,
you have to go back to the foreign tribunal and prove your citizenship again.
It is an endless process draining you of funds and energy.The first ‘foreigner’
case was filed against Ali in 2001. “It was filed by the border police and I
believe it must have been vendetta. I have a hardware store in new Matia market
and our family has owned most of the land in and around the market,” highlights
Ali.He went to the local civil court and with the existing documents, he was
able to prove that he was an Indian citizen. Local court then declared that he
was not an illegal immigrant.nationalheraldindia
Concerns raised at RSS meeting over Hindus being
left out of NRC
Pushkar :Concerns were raised at the RSS’ meeting
with its affiliates on Saturday over several genuine citizens being left out of
the final list of NRC in Assam, majority of whom they claimed are Hindus,
sources said. A detailed briefing was held by RSS affiliate ‘Seema Jagran
Manch’ on the final list of the NRC in Assam, published on August 31, that left
out over 1.9 million people, the sources said.Over 200 delegates of 35 RSS
affiliates attended the coordination meeting, first such meeting after Lok
Sabha elections. BJP working president JP Nadda, general secretary
(organisation) B.L. Santhosh and general secretary Ram Madhav were present.PTI
AFSPA in Assam extended for 6 months from Aug 28
AFSPA has
been extended for 6 months in Assam, effective from August 28, after reviewing
the law and order situation in the State, a govt release said.The Act that
empowers security forces to conduct operations, arrest anyone anywhere without
prior notice has been continuing in Assam since Nov.1990. The declaration was
made under Section 3 of the AFPSA by the State Home and Political Department,
the release said.PTI
‘India needs a booster dose, not Russia’:
Opposition attacks India’s $1-billion aid
Opposition on Friday attacked the govt for PM
Narendra Modi’s announcement to extend a line of credit worth $1 billion
(nearly Rs 7,100 crore) to Russia for development of country’s Far East region.
PM made the announcement at Eastern Economic Forum summit in Vladivostok. Opposition
leaders questioned Centre on why India would help finance projects in a country
that has ample resources, especially after fall in growth and during a current
economic slowdown in the country. This is reportedly the first time India has
extended a line of credit to another developing country. Earlier such
assistance was given only to developed countries.“India needs a booster dose,
not Russia,” said Congress leader and MP Jairam Ramesh. Kerala Finance Minister
TM Thomas Isaac also attacked the govt for the decision. “India’s per capita
income is only one tenth of that of Russia,” the minister said. “What is the rationale
of India extending a loan is $ 1 billion for development of Russian Far East
while our country cannot find sufficient resources for stimulus
package?”scroll.in
For US investment, India needs policy stability,
coherence: US-India Business Council head Biswal
Months after PM Narendra Modi and US President
Donald Trump announced in Osaka that US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer
and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal should meet and resolve the trade impasse, there
has been no meeting thus far, but US-India Business Council President Nisha
Biswal says she is hopeful they will meet before Modi travels to US this month.
Nisha said, "The biggest issue is that for India to attract the kind of
investment it needs, it has to project policy stability and policy coherence.
Everyone recognises that as India grows, its policy framework needs to evolve,
but it should be done in a way that is stable and coherent. There must be a
consultative process, certain predictability and when positions are adopted,
there must not be contradictory interpretations of them in different govt
departments. On e-commerce and data protection, India has indicated it will
take its time, and our industries are saying that they feel the process is more
consultative now."thehindu
CJI to hear plea seeking live streaming of
Ayodhya case on Sept 11
CJI Ranjan
Gogoi will on Sept.11 hear a petition seeking live streaming of the Babri
Masjid land dispute case.After the petition came up for hearing today, a bench
of the apex court, headed by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, said, "We
would request CJI to hear the matter on Wednesday."The SC observed that it
is a "very sensitive matter".The SC is presently conducting
day-to-day hearings into Ayodhya dispute case.ANI
Unnao rape case: SC gives CBI 2 more weeks to
complete probe on accident
New Delhi :The Supreme Court on Friday gave the
CBI two more weeks to complete the probe in the road accident case involving
the Unnao rape victim and for filing a chargesheet in the gangrape case lodged
by her mother.The SC also gave the sessions judge, to whom it had transferred
the five cases related to the rape victim, more time as sought by him to
complete the trial.In a report to the bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and
Aniruddha Bose, the judge had sought separate period of extension in each of
the cases. Accepting this, the SC said the sessions judge “has acted with great
efficiency and alacrity” and that he may approach it again “if he finds it
realistically impossible to complete (trial) even in extended time”.The trial
court judge conveyed to the top court that it had written to the Delhi HC
seeking permission to hold court in AIIMS,
to examine the rape victim. On this, the bench asked the High Court to
take a decision at the earliest.indianexpress
UP: Dalit official hangs self, suicide note cites
humiliation at farmers’ outfit meet
Lucknow :A 23-year-old village development
officer has allegedly committed suicide at his residence in Lakhimpur Kheri
district of UP, days after he allegedly faced casteist remarks and humiliation
at a meeting of a farmers’ outfit.In a suicide note recovered by police,
Trivendra Kumar has reportedly accused “Kisan Union” and family members of 2
village pradhans of harassing him and hurling casteist abuses. Kumar’s family
has alleged that he was humiliated when he went to collect a memorandum at a
meeting BKU-L at Gola block of Lakhimpur Kheri on August 28.Hailing from
Lakhimpur Kheri, Kumar joined as village development officer around eight
months ago. He was unmarried and lived with his family at Shiv Sagar
colony.indianexpress
Parents boycott Mirzapur school after journalist,
pradhan’s aide booked: indianexpress
Lucknow :Days after a journalist and a
representative of the pradhan of Seur village were booked for allegedly
conspiring to make a video of students being served roti and salt at a govt
primary school, parents have stopped sending their children to the institution
in protest against the district administration.On Thursday, only one student
reportedly attended the school.The district administration had lodged a
complaint against local journalist Pawan Jaiswal and representative of the
pradhan, Rajkumar Pal, on the basis of which police booked them for criminal
conspiracy and “maligning the image of the state govt”.
Elgaar parishad case: Gadling says he doesn’t
want to depose before inquiry panel
Pune :Surendra Gadling, an accused in Elgaar
Parishad case, on Friday appeared before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of
Inquiry for a scheduled deposition, but instead submitted an application
stating that he didn’t want to depose “as it will cause prejudice to him in his
defence” before trial court.Gadling and activist Sudhir Dhawale, a co-accused
in the same case, had last year filed their applications before the commission
through advocate Siddharth Patil, stating that they should “be called upon to
depose before the commission so as to bring to light certain facts” that they
were privy to. Gadling and Dhawale were among activists arrested in June last
year by Pune Police over their alleged links with CPI-Maoist, a banned outfit.
They are currently lodged in Yerwada Central Prison.indianexpress
IAS officer quits: ‘Unethical to continue when
building blocks of democracy being compromised’
Chennai :S Sasikanth Senthil, a 2009-batch IAS
officer of Karnataka cadre, resigned, citing that it is “unethical” for him to
continue as a civil servant when the “fundamental building blocks of our
diverse democracy are being compromised”.This comes after Kannan Gopinathan, 2012-batch
IAS officer from Kerala, resigned last month, citing curbs on the “entire state”
of J&K.39-year-old Senthil, who was posted as deputy commissioner of
Dakshina Kannada since Feb, said,” The (political) framework that has come to
our country now is very easy to spot in history. It has all the ingredients of
what happened in Poland, Germany, Burma; even Russia. any sort of such fascist
approaches…I need to come out to talk about it.” He said the decision was not
taken in a day. “Kashmir…was one of check boxes in that framework I mentioned,
absolutely one of triggers for my decision….”indianexpress
‘There is a clear fascist onslaught’: Senthil who
quit IAS
US historically black colleges,universities are
similar to minority institutions in India:Advisor to JMI VC
New Delhi:Prof. M Asaduddin, Advisor to V-C,
Jamia Millia Islamia, delivered the Keynote address in the 2-day national
seminar on "A Comparative Study of African American and Dalit and Minority
Literature" organized by Dyal Singh College recently.Prof. Asaduddin in
his address pointed out that "just as we have minority institutions in
India, in the USA they have what they call 'Historically Black colleges and
universities (HBCUs) spread across the country.He alluded to his personal
experience in teaching in such a university, Winston Salem State University, in
North Carolina, USA. Profiles of students in the almost all-back American
classroom were similar to the profiles of students in some minority
institutions in India, he said. Discussing broad similarities between
Afro-American literature in US and Dalit literature in India, he pointed out 2
major differences that should be kept in mind.First, he said, 'Blackness'
inscribed on skin. Afro-American individuals, however, empowered they are,
cannot escape the stigma wrongly associated with his/her skin colour.indiatoday
Tell judges in Kerala that they are part of
India: SC
New Delhi: "Tell judges in Kerala that they
are part of India," the Supreme Court said on Friday while taking strong
exception to the state high court's tinkering of its 2017 verdict on right to
conduct administration and prayers in churches in a dispute between 2 factions.
The SC set aside the Kerala high court order that prayer services at the
churches should be performed alternately by 2 rival factions of Malankara
Church. The SC in 2017 said that prayer services have to be performed in
consonance with the 1934 Malankara Church Constitution and guidelines.It had
also said that 1,100 parishes and their churches under the Malankara Church
should be controlled by the Orthodox faction as per those guidelines.A bench of
Justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah on Friday got furious after coming to know
about the high court order and said, "It is a very objectionable order.
Who is this judge? The high court has no right to tinker with our decision.
This is the height of judicial indiscipline. Tell judges in Kerala they are
part of India".It was hearing matter related to the implementation of the SC
order on giving control of 1,100 parishes and their churches under Malankara
Church to Orthodox faction.PTI
AIMIM calls-off alliance with Prakash
Ambedkar-led VBA over seat allotment
Hyderabad: Much talked about Muslim-Dalit
alliance between AIMIM and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has hit an impasse
with AIMIM backing out of the partnership over allotment of seats. A statement
from AIMIM member of parliament Imtiyaz Jaleel on Friday, rejected VBA’s offer
of just eight out of 288 assembly seats for the upcoming Maharashtra state polls
and termed it “unacceptable and unjustified".“AIMIM informs that after
prolong discussions lasting for near two months with Balasaheb (Prakash
Ambedkar), president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, we could not reach at a
comfortable and respectable figure of seat distribution between both
presidents. VBA conveyed that they could allot only eight seats out of the 288
assembly seats in the Maharashtra assembly to AIMIM as alliance partner. This
is simply unacceptable and unjustified as the list does not include the sitting
seat of AIMIM in Aurangabad central," said Jaleel’s statement. livemint.com
3 injured in Bihar communal clash
Kishanganj:Aclash between 2 groups left 3 persons
injured here, following which security was beefed in the communally sensitive
town ahead of Muharram festival next week, police said on Friday.Madhavnagar
Mahadalit Tola area witnessed heavy stone-pelting on Thursday night after local
people raised objection to a religious procession passing through the locality,
Kishanganj SP Kumar Ashish said."FIRs have been lodged by both sides at Sadar
police station in connection with the stone-pelting which left 3 persons
injured. No arrests have been made so far," SP said.Intense patrolling is
underway by police personnel at various areas and places of worship, he
said.PTI
Tweets on MJ Akbar aimed at highlighting his
‘sexually-coloured behaviour’: Ramani
New Delhi :Journalist Priya Ramani on Saturday
told a Delhi court that through her tweet, which former Union Minister M J
Akbar has termed “defamatory”, she was trying to highlight his
“sexually-coloured behaviour” that she faced in 1993 from him.Ramani made
submission while deposing as a witness in her defence in the criminal
defamation complaint filed by Akbar against her.“Seeing all these women (who
accused Akbar of sexual harassment), I felt compelled to speak up about my
experience with Akbar in 1993 and so I removed the anonymity that I had given
to Akbar in my Vogue article and named him as the editor who had sexually
harassed me,” deposed Ramani.“I said I never named him because he didn’t ‘do’
anything. I used inverted commas to denote sarcasm. Sexual harassment can take
any form. It can be physical or verbal. By saying that he didn’t ‘do’ anything,
I was honestly disclosing that there was no overt act but that didn’t excuse Akbar’s
sexually coloured behaviour,” she added.PTI
WORLD
US in talks with Houthis to end Yemen war
US has started talks with the Houthis in a bid to
resolve the ongoing conflict in Yemen, an official has said.The confirmation
came yesterday during a visit to the Prince Sultan Air Base near Saudi city of
Al-Kharj by the Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker. Schenker
told reporters the US is holding talks “to the extent possible with the Houthis
to try and find a mutually acceptable negotiated solution to the conflict”. He
gave no further details.The negotiations represent the first known contact
between the US govt and the Houthi movement in four years. The last occasion was
under the Obama administration in June 2015 which led to failed peace talks in
Geneva.Senior Houthi official Hamid Assem told AFP that US “talking to us is a
great victory for us and proves that we are right.” He did, however, refuse to
confirm or deny US official’s statement.middleeastmonitor
Hamas hails decision of EU court to remove it
from world blacklist
Hamas has hailed a European court decision to
remove it from the world’s terrorist list, a statement confirms. Hamas
spokesman, Hazim Qassim, declared that the decision “is positive and a right
step in the right direction.” Qassim added “we hope that this decision will
lead to completely remove the name of the movement from any unjust
list.”Meanwhile, he insisted that “resisting the Israeli occupation is legal
according to the international conventions and laws.”He stressed that
“classifying Hamas or any of Palestinian resistance factions as terrorist
organisations is completely unjust and not fair for the legal struggle of
Palestinian people against the occupation.” Hamas official reiterated that this
movement “will continue practicing its right to defend the Palestinian people
and protect them until the achievement of their freedom and the right to
establish an independent Palestinian state.”MEMO
Hamas: US envoy quitting shows failure of Mideast
plan
Hamas has said the quitting of Washington’s
special envoy to the Middle East was a new proof of “failure” of the
long-delayed US peace plan for Israel and Palestinians. The resignation is “a
new evidence of the failure of the Deal of the Century and an indication of the
administration’s confusion in its options on the Palestinian issue,” said Wasfi
Qabha, Hamas leading member. On Thursday,Donald Trump announced Jason
Greenblatt will leave his post. Greenblatt will stay in his role until US peace
plan for Israel and Palestinians is unveiled. MEMO
2 Palestinian teenagers shot dead by Israeli army
2 Palestinian teenagers have been killed by
Israeli gunfire during a protest along the Israel-Gaza border fence.Gaza's
health authorities said Ali al-Ashqar, 17, and Khaled al-Ribie,14, were shot in
the chest by Israeli police on Friday while thousands of Palestinians held
protests at several sections of fence.Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for Palestinian
Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that 76 people were also wounded by Israeli
fire, 45 of whom were targeted."Most of the victims suffered upper-body
wounds which shows an intent to kill,"he said.Over 5,000 Palestinians
participated in Friday's march, according to people who took part.aljazeera
Sheffield becomes first UK city to recognise
Palestine
Sheffield has become the first UK city to
recognise the State of Palestine, a move it hopes will pressure other cities
and ultimately UK govt to follow suit.Sheffield City Council on Wednesday
unanimously passed a motion to formally recognise the sovereign state of
Palestine, making it the first city in UK to do so. The motion “noted that the
current UK Govt appears to have no intention of recognising Palestine,” a
stance which “is in contrast to the Labour Party’s commitment to recognise
Palestine as a full state as part of the United Nations and under UK
law.”Sheffield City Council, like most city councils in the north of UK,
consists predominantly of Labour Party councillors. It now hopes its action
will increase pressure on the Conservative-held UK govt to follow in its
footsteps.The passing of the motion was preceded by a ceremony during which the
Palestinian flag was raised outside the city’s Town Hall by Palestinian
Ambassador to UK, Husam Zomlot.MEMO
President Aoun warns: ‘Israel will bear
consequences of any attack on Lebanon’
Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, warned on Friday
that Israel would bear the consequences of any attack on his country, declaring
that “any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country
will be met with legitimate self-defence, and Israel will bear all of its
resulting consequences.”This occurred during Aoun’s meeting at Baabda Palace,
east of Beirut, with UN secretary-general’s representative in Lebanon, Jan
Kubis.“Aoun told Kubis that the recent Israeli attack on the southern suburbs
of Beirut represents its violation of the Rules of Engagement, reached after
the issuance of UNSC Resolution 1701,” the statement explains.MEMO
Egypt: Aisha Al-Shater transferred to prison
hospital after health deteriorates
Aisha Khairat Al-Shater has been transferred to
Al-Qanater Prison hospital after her health continues to deteriorate in the one
metre square cell in which she is being held in solitary confinement.The daughter
of the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Khairat Al-Shater began an open
hunger strike in mid-August in protest against her prison conditions.MEMO
Did Egypt authorities kill Abdullah Morsi?MEMO
Egyptian authorities are to blame for the death
of the youngest son of late President Mohamed Morsi, social media users have
said.24-year-old Abdullah died of an alleged heart attack while driving with a
friend in Cairo on Wednesday. Twitter user Salma Ashraf, expressed her fear for
the Egyptian youth “who could die of injustice, oppression and feeling helpless
like the strong man #AbdullahMorsi” adding that authorities are to blame for
the injustices they continuously face.Some said that Abdullah was investigating
his father’s death leading authorities to target him. Others, such as Twitter
user Ahmed Nazim, described Mohamed Morsi and Abdullah as “martyrs”, suggesting
that they died fighting for justice and liberation.
Despite human rights violation, US releases $1.3
billion in aid to Egypt
US State
Department has decided to release $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt,
despite continuous human rights violations and thousands still being detained
on political grounds.The American news website, Al-Monitor, cited a human
rights violation exemption waiver in reporting the release of the $1.3 billion
in aid.middleeastmonitor
Iran activates advanced centrifuges in latest N-move
Iran has begun injecting gas into advanced
centrifuges to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium, an official has
announced, warning that time is running out for other signatories to save a
multilateral 2015 nuclear deal. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Iran's Atomic
Energy Organisation, said on Saturday the agency had started up advanced
centrifuges at Iran's enrichment facility in Natanz as the third step by Tehran
in scaling back its commitments under the crumbling pact following US'
unilateral withdrawal last year."We have started lifting limitations on
our research and development imposed by the deal ... it will include
development of more rapid and advanced centrifuges," Kamalvandi said. "The
capacity of these machines is many times more than the previous machines. This
started as of yesterday (Friday)," he continued, adding that "all
these steps are reversible if the other side fulfils its
promises".aljazeera
African Union lifts suspension of Sudan
African Union has lifted its suspension of Sudan's
membership in the bloc, ending a three-month freeze that had been in place
pending the installation of a civilian-led govt after the removal of long-term
President Omar al-Bashir.The move on Friday came after Sudan's newly appointed
PM Abdalla Hamdok formed his first cabinet as part of a 3-year transitional
power-sharing deal between Sudan's military, civilian parties and protest
groups. AU's Peace and Security Council said in a tweet that pan-African body
has decided "to lift the suspension of the participation of #Sudan in the
activities of #AU, now that #Sudan established a civilian-led Govt".On
Thursday, Hamdok formed the country's first cabinet since April, when al-Bashir
was unseated by the military.aljazeera
India business forum: ‘Turkey a haven for
investors’
Amid winds of stagnant global growth, Turkey
provides a safe haven for investors, said a financial expert on Friday.“There
is no history of controlling or seizure of deposits in Turkey,” Levent Topcu
told businessmen from Turkey and India at an event in Istanbul, Turkey’s
commercial capital.Addressing the third India Business Forum, Topcu, who works
as a strategic analyst with financial advisor EY, ruled out any further
devaluation of the lira saying: “Turkish market has a history of fast
turnaround.”India’s Envoy to Turkey Sanjay Bhattacharyya said that over 151
Indian companies were registered in Turkey with a bilateral trade volume of over
$8.6 billion.Manish Mohan, representative of CII, said that as Turkey and India
are two big economies and part of the G20, “there is a huge potential bilaterally
and in third-party countries for boosting trade.”“Turkey is a gateway for
energy-rich central Asia and the vibrant markets of Europe for India,” Mohan
said.Anadolu
UK's Labour says no election unless PM Johnson
abides by law blocking no-deal Brexit
Britain’s
opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Labour Party will not support a
general election until PM Boris Johnson says he will adhere to new legislation
blocking a no-deal British departure from the European Union on Oct. 31.“We
need a clear statement from the PM that he is going to abide by that act of
parliament,” Corbyn told the BBC.Asked when he would allow an election to take
place, Corbyn added: “When we’re absolutely clear that there will be an end to
the danger of a no-deal crashing out (of EU) on 31st (of Oct.).”Reuters
Zimbabwe ex-President Robert Mugabe dies aged 95
Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has died
at the age of 95, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said.
Flash: NEWS,views,Articles
'When Media Turns Against the Citizen, Citizens
Must Play Role of the Media':Ravish Kumar
Bhagwat should be debating why dalits, adivasis, OBCs
have not benefitted from reservations :Udit Raj
If all is normal,why are we caged?Kashmiris ask
Ayodhya case in SC: How Sunni Waqf Board has left
many confused:Prabhash K Dutta
Chaos and crisis in Kashmir hospitals after
month-long lockdown: by Adnan Bhat , aljazeera
Skull of Humanity's Oldest Known Ancestor Is
Changing Evolutionary Beliefs:Hester Hanegraef
Ground Report: Healthcare Crisis in J&K
Grows; Ayushman Bharat Suspended:thewire
Amid Communication Blockade, Kashmiris Robbed of
the Right to Mourn Their Dead:thewire
Nehru, Patel often disagreed with each other, yet
they presented a united front: Yashwant Sinha
NRC unconstitutional and violates international
law: Amnesty must for the excluded:Prof G Mohan Gopal
Multiple lapses, shoddy probe: SIT’s 84-page
report on Pehlu lynching
Why do mob lynchings still continue unabated?Mahtab
Alam
Child-lifting rumours: Bihar mob intensified
attack on victims after learning they were Muslims
Demonetisation one of reasons behind automobile
slowdown, man tells Minister Anurag Thakur
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq,(Released at: 8:22 PM)
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