Current Final

Category: FOREIGN

  • As Delhi burns, Gurdwaras open doors to Muslims fleeing violence

    As Delhi burns, Gurdwaras open doors to Muslims fleeing violence

    As New Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal suggests calling the army amid police’s failure to quell violent communal clashes that have so far claimed at least 20 lives and left hundreds of others injured, Gurdwaras are offering help to Muslim families fleeing violence in the Indian capital.

    According to a report in India Times, members of the Sikh community are not only patrolling with their neighbours of the Indian Muslim community to ensure that no one from outside attacks the latter’s homes, but many Gurdwaras — places of assembly and worship for Sikhs — are also giving shelter to the Muslims of riot-infested Delhi.

    Novelist Nilanjana Roy tweeted that she had come across news from one part of the city wherein a Gurdwara had opened its doors to anyone who needs shelter.

    https://twitter.com/nilanjanaroy/status/1232303148766617601

    Many other people shared similar stories.

    DELHI RIOTS:

    The riots — clashes between anti and pro Citizens Amendment Act (CAA) groups, which soon took a communal colour — that began earlier this week, are the worst Delhi has witnessed in recent years.

    The controversial citizenship law has been deemed discriminatory toward Muslims, against which the Muslim minority community of India has been staging protests across the country since December last year.

    With Hindu supremacist mobs running rampage in New Delhi earlier this week, things escalated quickly.

    Violence broke out in three Muslim-majority areas in north-east Delhi on Sunday and has continued since. Protesters are split along religious lines, and each side blames the other for starting the clashes.

    But the violence has been linked to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Kapil Mishra, who had threatened a group of protesters staging a sit-in against the CAA over the weekend, telling them that they would be forcibly evicted once United States (US) President Donald Trump left India.

    It merits a mention that Trump had been in the country on a two-day maiden visit. When asked about the violence during a press briefing, Trump evaded the issue, saying the incident was “up to India” to handle.

  • VIDEO: Syrian father teaches baby daughter to laugh every time a bomb drops

    A Syrian man has made a “laughing game” for his baby daughter so she doesn’t get scared every time a bomb drops in Idlib city near the Turkish border in north-west Syria, which has been the target of continuous bombing for the past few weeks.

    With at least 21 civilians being killed so far in Idlib by the strikes carried out by the Syrian Air Force and its Russian allies, the man has taught his four-year-old daughter to laugh every time a bomb is dropped, as though it were a game, News18 reported.

    “What a sad world,” wrote journalist Ali Mustafa as he tweeted a video of the father-daughter duo.

    https://twitter.com/Ali_Mustafa/status/1229335068084142081

    People on the internet are heartbroken after watching the video.

    https://twitter.com/rubiaabrar/status/1229413006389456898
    https://twitter.com/VeryTiwari/status/1229451131685703684

    The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided civil war in Syria fought between the Ba’athist Syrian Arab Republic led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, along with domestic and foreign allies, and various domestic and foreign forces opposing both the Syrian government and each other in varying combinations.

    The unrest in Syria, part of a wider wave of the 2011 Arab Spring protests, grew out of discontent with the Syrian government and escalated to an armed conflict after protests calling for Assad’s removal were violently suppressed.

  • Sajid Javid resigns ‘on principle’ after tensions with British PM

    Sajid Javid resigns ‘on principle’ after tensions with British PM

    British Conservative Party leader of Pakistani origin, Sajid Javid, has resigned as chancellor of the exchequer as Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson carries out a post-Brexit cabinet reshuffle.

    According to BBC, Javid rejected an order to fire his team of aides, saying “no self-respecting minister” could accept such a condition.

    He had been due to deliver his first budget in four weeks’ time.

    The former home secretary was appointed chancellor by Johnson when he became PM in July.

    His resignation follows rumours of tensions between Javid and the British premier’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings. “He has turned down the job of chancellor of the Exchequer,” the report quoted a source close to Javid as saying.

    “The PM said he had to fire all his special advisers and replace them with Number 10 [10 Downing Street, the headquarters of the UK government] special advisers to make it one team. The chancellor said no self-respecting minister would accept those terms.”

    Javid has been replaced by Rishi Sunak.

    Sunka may enact a looser monetary policy, in line with Johnson’s promises to spend on infrastructure. That would allow the Bank of England to step back with monetary easing, thus supporting the pound.

  • Five-year-old raped inside US Embassy compound in Delhi

    Five-year-old raped inside US Embassy compound in Delhi

    A man has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl in the grounds of the United States (US) Embassy in New Delhi, CNN quoted police sources as saying.

    According to reports, the girl was playing outside the embassy’s staff quarters before she “was lured and raped by a neighbour”. Reports quoted Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner Eish Singhal as saying that the girl, who is the daughter of a housekeeper employed by the embassy, later identified the 25-year-old male suspect, who has been arrested and charged with rape.

    “She was able to identify him point blank and there is no doubt over this,” Singhal said, adding that the suspect remains in custody.

    The incident has appalled embassy staff. In a statement to CNN, a US Embassy spokesperson said they were deeply disturbed by the alleged misconduct. “We promptly took action when we were informed of the allegation, and brought this matter to the attention of the police. Of course, we are cooperating fully with them,” the spokesperson said.

    An investigation has been launched, and a court date is yet to be set. In the wake of the brutal 2012 Delhi gang rape — which brought worldwide condemnation and still haunts the collective memory of women in India’s capital –, lawmakers passed a series of amendments to the existing rape laws.

    The amended law lengthened prison terms and introduced the death penalty in cases in which the victim is younger than 12 years of age.

  • Indian police mistake wedding for anti-Modi protest, uproot tents

    Indian police mistake wedding for anti-Modi protest, uproot tents

    As anti-Citizens Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) protests against Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s government continue across India, Uttar Pradesh (UP) police have disrupted a wedding after mistaking it for a sit-in.

    According to India Times, UP police on Saturday uprooted a tent meant for a wedding in the Mohalla Mirdagan area of Bijnor city. The wedding was scheduled for February 4 and the bride’s father had set up the tent in a vacant land.

    All gifts and other items for the bride were kept in the tent. Police arrived on the spot and assuming that the tent was set up for anti-CAA/NRC protest without permission, started uprooting it. However, after realising the truth, they asked the family to reinstall the tent, reportedly not even helping them.

    The anti-CAA and NRC protests are ongoing protests taking place across India and overseas against the CAA that was enacted into law on December 12, 2019, and the proposals to enact a nationwide NRC. The protests began in Assam, Delhi, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura on December 4, and within a few days, spread across India, though the concerns of the protesters vary.

  • VIDEO: India’s infamous journalist Arnab Goswami trolled on flight

    VIDEO: India’s infamous journalist Arnab Goswami trolled on flight

    Remember the Indian journalist Arnab Goswami who reported that Hamza Ali Abbasi is an ISI agent? And the guy whose name Altaf Hussain got wrong? The same guy was recently trolled by Indian stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Lucknow.

    Goswami is known for his loudness and heckling of guests on his current affairs programme. Comedian Kunal Kamra first tweeted that he met Arnab Goswami on a flight and gave him a monologue about his ‘journalism’.

    “All he did was call me mentally unstable & after some time I had no choice but to return to my seat,” wrote Kamra.

    Kamra later posted a video where he is calling Goswami a ‘coward’ and asks him to respond to questions about a Dalit student, Rohit Vermula. Goswami had vilified Rohit after false cases were registered against him. Rohit committed suicide.

    When Kamra accosted Goswami, he pretended to watch a video on his laptop and turned a blind eye to Kamra’s questioning.

    Following their interaction, IndiGo barred Kamra from flying with them for six months.

    “In light of the recent incident on board 6E 5317 from Mumbai to Lucknow, we wish to inform that we are suspending Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with IndiGo for a period of six months, as his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour. Hereby, we wish to advise our passengers to refrain from indulging in personal slander whilst onboard, as this can potentially compromise the safety of fellow passengers,” announced IndiGo on Twitter.

    However, instead of feeling bad about it, Kamra thanked IndiGo.

    Kamra also issued an official statement on the matter.

    “Today I met Arnab Goswami in a flight to Lucknow (6E 5317) and politely asked him to have a conversation. At first, he pretended to be on a phone call. I waited for his so-called phone call to get over. Seatbelt signs were off at this time. I gave him a monologue about what I felt about his “journalism”. He refused to answer any questions, he called me ‘mentally unstable’.The stewardess asked me to take my seat as the seatbelt signs had just come on. Post take-off, when the seatbelt signs were off again, I approached him again and asked him if I could have his attention. He said he is watching something, and he doesn’t want to talk. So then I did exactly what Republic TV journalists do to people in their private/public spaces, and I don’t regret it. I am not sorry for it. The moment the stewardess asked me to move, I went back to my seat in 20 seconds. I apologised to each crew member personally and to both the pilots, by staying back till the end, for any inconvenience that I might have caused during the flight. I don’t think I did anything wrong/criminal. Don’t let this be about my bravado. Let us all take a moment and fondly remember a smiling Rohith vemulaI do apologise to every passenger except one”.

  • Israelis thought they could visit Saudi Arabia: Saudi says No

    Israelis thought they could visit Saudi Arabia: Saudi says No

    Israel had officially given its citizens the right to travel to Saudi Arabia for religious and business visits but the Saudi foreign minister, in response, said that Israelis are not welcome to Saudi Arabia “at the moment”.

    The Israeli interior ministry announced the decision saying that they approve the travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj or Umrah and also that business travellers must have an invitation and arranged visitation approval.

    Although Israel has made the decision, the gesture was seen as a warming of ties between the two countries since Saudi Arabia does not recognise the State of Israel.

    Travelers to Middle Eastern countries would use this border crossing into Jordan to go to other countries

    Israelis travel to Saudi Arabia through countries like Jordan and Egypt, which have peaceful ties with Israel. The visits were never official but nonetheless, they take place.

    Israel has had difficult ties with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries due to its illegal occupation of Palestine and the atrocities it has committed against the Palestinian people.

  • VIDEO: ‘Moment when Ukraine plane was hit by Iranian missile’

    VIDEO: ‘Moment when Ukraine plane was hit by Iranian missile’

    A newly-surfaced video released by The New York Times and CNN among other foreign media outlets, appears to show the moment a Ukrainian airliner was hit by a missile before crashing not far from Iran’s airport in Tehran on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported.

    Ukrainian International Airlines’ Kyiv-bound flight PS752 crashed minutes after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday amid escalating tensions between the United States (US) and Iran.

    All 176 passengers on board were killed in the crash that came as Iran fired missiles at US forces in Iraq.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The video is consistent with statements made by Canadian, US and UK officials, who said intelligence indicated that an Iranian missile brought down the airliner. They, however, say it may have been a mistake.

    Iran, on the other hand, rejects the same and blames engine failure for the crash.

    While it is unclear why the person was recording a video at the time, reports say it is possible that two missiles were fired, prompting the person filming to start recording. The New York Times also reported that the person started filming after hearing “some sort of shot fired”.

  • Court tells Defence Ministry to release missing persons’ lawyer

    Court tells Defence Ministry to release missing persons’ lawyer

    Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the Defence Ministry to immediately release lawyer Col (r) Inamur Rahim, reportedly terming his arrest “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

    A representative of the Ministry of Defence had last week informed the LHC that Rahim was in the custody of law enforcement agencies and was currently being interrogated. The revelation had come during the hearing of a case related to Rahim’s abduction from his home in Rawalpindi on the night of December 16.

    Rahim, who has fought court cases on behalf of the families of several missing persons, had been picked up by unidentified men from his home in Rawalpindi’s Askari 14. According to his son Husnain Inam, around eight to 10 persons had “picked up” his father.

    The case was heard by Mirza Waqas of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench.

    According to The News, in a monthly progress report last year, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) had reported that 6,051 cases had been registered before the CIED since March 2011.

    Out of these, 3,793 cases had been “disposed”, while 2,258 cases were still pending. Significantly, out of the 3,793 cases “disposed” by the CIED, 743 “missing people” were traced to different internment centers.

    Some 468 people were located in prisons; and 189 people were found to have passed away. The commission provided no information on steps taken to establish the circumstances behind these detentions or deaths.

  • Iran’s threat to US: Israel steps back, says ‘has nothing to do with what Trump did’

    Iran’s threat to US: Israel steps back, says ‘has nothing to do with what Trump did’

    As tensions continue to soar between Iran and the United States (US) over the past week, and both Tehran and Washington issuing threats against each other, Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel should not be dragged into the conflict.

    According to Anadolu Agency, Netanyahu, while chairing a security cabinet meeting Monday, said the killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was carried out by the US, stressing his country was “not involved”.

    Soleimani, commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Forces, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, vice president of the Hashd al-Shaabi group, were assassinated in a US drone strike on Friday outside Baghdad International Airport.

    With the dramatic escalation making headlines and Iran issuing threats of severe consequence, Netanyahu has urged his ministers to reiterate Israel’s support for America’s right to defend itself when speaking to the media.

    During the meeting, top Israeli intelligence officials reassured the ministers that the likelihood of a retaliatory attack by Iran against Israel was low, since “Israel stayed at a distance from the incident”, according to Channel 13.

    Soleimani’s slaying marked a new high in tensions between the US and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

    Iran has now promised to avenge Soleimani’s killing and announced that it would stop complying with the 2015 nuclear deal. Trump has since threatened to target cultural sites in Iran.