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Trump signs new sanctions against Hezbollah

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US President Donald Trump has signed new sanctions targeting the Iranian-funded militant group and political party Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Washington.

“Over the past year we have levied the highest sanctions ever imposed on Hezbollah — in a single year, by far. Just a few moments ago, I signed legislation imposing even more hard-hitting sanctions on Hezbollah to further starve them of their funds. And they are starving for them,” Trump said during an event on Thursday marking the 35th anniversary of the attack on US Marine barracks in Beirut.

The legislation, known as the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act, was sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, reports CNN.

The bill ramps up reporting requirements and places further financial and economic sanctions on the group.

“We will target, disrupt and dismantle their operational and financing efforts, of which they have plenty and we will never forget what they did to our Marines in Beirut,” the President added.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the sanctions “will further isolate Hezbollah from the international financial system and reduce its funding”.

“These sanctions will target foreign persons and government agencies that knowingly assist or support Hezbollah, and Hezbollah-affiliated networks that engage in drug trafficking or other transnational crime,” she added.

IANS

Hafiz Saeed’s JuD, FIF no more on banned outfits’ list

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 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) are no more on the list of banned outfits after the presidential ordinance that proscribed them under a UN resolution lapsed, a court here was told.

During a hearing on Thursday of a petition filed by Saeed, his counsel informed the Islamabad High Court that the presidential ordinance had lapsed and it had never been extended, Dawn news reported.

Deputy Attorney General Raja Khalid Mehmood Khan confirmed that the ordinance had lapsed.

The petitioner had challenged the ordinance under which his organisations had been banned for being on the watch list of the UN Security Council.

In February, former President Mamnoon Hussain promulgated an ordinance amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, with regards to proscription of terrorist individuals and organisations to include entities listed by the UN Security Council – in a move to declare JuD and FIF as proscribed groups.

Saeed contended in the petition that he established JuD in 2002 and cut off all ties with the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but India continued to malign JuD for its past association with the terror outfit.

The petitioner said he was kept in detention in 2009 and 2017 due to India’s pressure.

He added that the UN Security Council had passed a resolution against JuD after which the government of Pakistan put it on the watch list.

The JuD chief termed it against the sovereignty of Pakistan that an ordi­na­nce was issued to ban his organisation.

According to a list updated on September 5 on the National Counter Terrorism Authority’s website, 66 organisations have been banned in the country and JuD and FIF were not among them.

However, the two Hafiz Saeed-linked organisations were “under watch by the Ministry of Interior”.

Ians

 

Being gay is God’s greatest gift to me, says Tim Cook

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that being gay has been God’s greatest gift to him, the media reported.

On October 30, 2014, Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay.

Although his sexual orientation had been widely rumoured beforehand, he had not confirmed it publicly.

Cook said he was happy about that distinction as well as his decision.

“I’m very proud of it,” the Apple CEO was quoted as saying to Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday in an exclusive interview for her programme on CNN International and PBS.

Being gay is “God’s greatest gift to me”, he said.

Cook said he chose to come out publicly after receiving letters from children who were “going through being bullied, being pushed out of their homes, very close to suicide”.

“My strong view is that everyone should be treated with respect… I was public because I started to receive stories from kids who read online that I was gay,” he said.

Cook said he is a private person but ultimately decided that he was being “selfish” by keeping quiet about his identity when he could help people by coming out.

“I needed to do something for them,” Cook said. He wanted to demonstrate to gay children that they “can be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life”.

Cook said that coming out as gay has given him empathy towards those not in the majority and has also helped him as a leader, he said.

“I learned what it was like to be a minority,” Cook told CNN.

“The feeling of being in a minority gives you a level of empathy for other people who are not in the majority.”

Prejudicial comments have also given him a thick skin, Cook said.

“That turns out to be pretty beneficial from this role as well.”

In the interview, Cook also shared his thoughts on the US President Donald Trump administration’s policies on tax, trade with China and immigration.

Cook applauded Trump’s decisions on corporate tax cuts. He believes it will help “people invest more in the US”.

However, Cook disagrees with Trump’s immigration reduction policies stating “immigration adds to GDP”.

IANS

Ex-SC judge to supervise CVC probe against Alok Verma

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The Supreme Court on Friday appointed one of its former judges, Justice A.K. Patnaik, to supervise the inquiry into the allegations against CBI Director Alok Verma while giving two weeks time to the CVC to complete the probe.

Making it clear that prolonging the inquiry was not in the nation’s best interest, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Krishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph said the inquiry would be conducted on the allegation contained in the Cabinet Secretary’s note to the CVC.

As Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told the court that the inquiry should not be on the allegation against Verma but also on the allegations raised against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana, Chief Justice Gogoi said: “We are only concerned with Verma.”

The court also asked the officiating Director M. Nageswara Rao not to take any policy or major decision except for routine ones.

It directed all decisions taken by Rao “after taking over charge till this hour” (when the order was being dictated) to be submitted to the court in a sealed envelope by November 12.

IANS

The court said it may reverse or retain Rao’s decisions.

#MeToo : Defamation suit against Sruthi

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Days after actress Sruthi Hariharan accused him of behaving in an “unprofessional” manner, South Indian actor Arjun Sarja Thursday filed a Rs five crore defamation suit against her.

The actor’s manager Shivarjun also lodged a complaint against the actress at the Cyber Crime police station. Attempts by the Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce to bring about a rapprochement between the two failed as they stuck to their respective stands. Kicking up a storm in the Kannada film industry, the actress had accused Sarja of behaving with her in “lewd and complete unprofessional” manner during the shooting of a movie two years ago.

Senior filmmakers such as Ambarish, Sa Ra Govindu, Congress MLA and film maker Munirathna and Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce president Chinne Gowda were present at the KFCC office as attempts were made to bring the two artistes to the negotiation table.

Sruthi Hariharan and Sarja came there but they remained adamant on their stand and the KFCC could not arrive at any compromise.

“There is no question of compromise because the pain is intense. Not only me, but my family, friends and above all, my fans in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are deeply hurt. I don’t want others to be sacrificed like this.

Hence, we have gone to court. You will come to know in the coming days who are behind this campaign against me,” Sarja told reporters after the meeting.

Sarja said he has already approached the court and it would be improper on his part to speak on a sub-judice matter.

Sarja’s friend Prashanth Sambaragi said a defamation suit of Rs five crore has been filed against the actress.

Unfazed by the police complaint and court cases against her, Sruthi Hariharan too was adamant.

“Our society has stooped so low that if something wrong happens to the girl she is victimised. Why should I seek apologies when I had faced the problem?” she said.

PTI

Hundreds of journalists condemn Trump’s ‘sustained’ media attacks

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More than 200 journalists, most of them retired or semi-retired, accused US President Donald Trump of a “sustained pattern” of attacking media in an open letter published a day after a spate of suspected pipe bombs were sent to CNN and several prominent Trump critics.

“Trump’s condoning of political violence is part of a sustained pattern of attack on a free press – which includes labeling any reportage he doesn’t like as ‘fake news’ and barring reporters and news organisations whom he wishes to punish from press briefings and events,” stated the letter, which was published on Thursday morning.

Lambasting Trump’s recent praise for a violent assault on a Guardian journalist, the letter went on to accuse Trump of undermining media freedoms and inciting violence against the press.

Among the signatories were former press workers for CNN, ABC and Los Angeles Times.

In Texas, Trump speech takes far-right turn: ‘I’m a nationalist.’
Starting with a suspected explosive device sent to the home of liberal billionaire philanthropist and financier George Soros, at least 10 packages containing pipe bombs have been mailed to prominent critics of Trump this week.

Other packages were addressed to former US President Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, US Congresswoman Maxine Waters, actor Robert Deniro and former CIA director John Brennan in care of CNN, among others.

The incident comes just two weeks before midterm elections, which are expected to be a referendum on Trump’s performance.

Blaming the press
On Thursday morning, Trump renewed his attacks on the press, taking to Twitter in an apparent attempt to blame the media for the spate of suspected bombs.

“A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News,” he tweeted.

“It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”

His comments were met with derision from CNN President Jeff Zucker, who charged the Trump administration with “a total and complete lack of understanding … about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media”.

Bill de Blasio, New York City’s mayor, described the string of packages as an “act of terror”.

“Don’t encourage violence, don’t encourage hatred, don’t encourage attacks on media,” he added without naming Trump.

“Unfortunately this atmosphere of hatred is contributing to the choices people are making to turn to violence.”

But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended Trump’s comments on Thursday morning. “Day in, day out, there is a negative tone,” Sanders told press outside the White House.

“You guys continue to focus only on the negative and there is a role to play.”

Since coming to office, Trump has been widely criticised by rights groups and press freedom organisations for his frequent criticism of the media.

After five press workers were killed by a shotgun-wielding man in Maryland in June, the US became the second most dangerous country for journalists during the first half of 2018, according to the International News Safety Institute.

Aljazeera

Indian officials raid Amnesty International’s regional office

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India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), a government agency that investigates financial crimes, has conducted raids at the regional office of Amnesty International in what activists claim are efforts to silence dissent.

Indian media reports said the raids at the premises of the rights watchdog in Bengaluru in southern Karnataka state began at 1:30pm (8:30 GMT) on Thursday afternoon and were ongoing.

A statement released by ED said its searches were conducted for alleged violation of foreign direct investment guidelines by Amnesty India. The agency accused the rights group of bypassing rules regarding foreign donations by “floating a commercial entity”.

Amnesty denied those accussations saying its structure is compliant with Indian laws.

“After a crackdown on a number of NGOs, Enforcement Directorate hits at Amnesty. The 10 hour long raid conducted at our Bengaluru office ended at midnight,” Amnesty India said in a statement.

“Our staff fully cooperated with officials. We reiterate, our structure is compliant with Indian laws. ED raid on Amnesty India shows a disturbing pattern of the government silencing organisations that question power.”

Over 5 ED officials raided Amnesty’s Bengaluru office. Ordered employees to not leave, shut their laptops and searched their desks. Employees were not allowed to use their phones to call friends and families. #CrackdownOnAmnesty

The action against Amnesty came within weeks of similar raids at the offices of Greenpeace India by the ED, which accused the charity of violating laws related to foreign funds.

On Wednesday, Amnesty urged the Indian government to initiate “effective, independent and impartial investigation” into the October 21 deaths of seven civilians in a blast in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Amnesty India has campaigned against arbitrary detention of human rights activists and leaders of marginalised groups including Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad in recent months.

Indian newspaper, The Hindu, in a report published in August, quoted federal officials saying they were probing whether some entities based in the UK infused funds into Amnesty’s India unit allegedly through commercial channels in violation of Indian laws.

Nikhil Dey at Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, a peasant and workers’ organisation in the western state of Rajasthan, described the raids as “bad signs for Indian democracy”.

“There is a pattern to this. The government doesn’t want any focus on human rights issues. Amnesty is a global organisation of some repute and these critical voices are very important,” Dey told Al Jazeera, calling the ED action “disturbing”.

“India prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy. So, scrutiny of its human rights record is important, especially with this government that is brazenly attempting to muzzle civil society,” he added.

Targeting rights groups
Since assuming office in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has turned the spotlight on international rights groups and charities, accusing some such as Greenpeace of trying to hamper national projects on social and environmental grounds.

In 2015, the Modi government withdrew permission from Greenpeace to receive foreign funding, saying the money was used to block industrial projects.

India’s Supreme Court criticises police for arresting activists
In recent years, the Indian government has cancelled the registration of nearly 9,000 groups for allegedly failing to declare details of overseas donations.

Activists warn the right-wing government’s efforts to silence criticism and dissent in the world’s largest democracy are growing stronger ahead of an impending general election, due by May next year.

“Why are businesses allowed to bring in all kinds of foreign money and even donate to political parties, while organisations that help the oppressed in this country are being raided and attacked?” asked Dey.

Aljazeera

Bollywood Buzz

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Danish Alfaaz – Another UP Talent Makes His Entry In Bollywood

Danish Alfaaz, hailing from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, the land that’s given Hindi cinema its countless superstars & multi-talented personalities, is all set to make his debut & take over the Hindi film industry with Poonam Pandey & Shakti Kapoor starrer The Journey Of Karma.
Danish Alfaaz, the musical maestro will be making his debut as a singer, composer & lyricist.

Starting off as a singer, Danish Alfaaz has honed his musical side quite rapidly & moved on from just a singer to a lyrist & as a composer as well in no time.

Having 3 hit albums to his name, Danish Alfaaz is basking in the glory of his 1st ever Bollywood project.

Danish Alfaaz avers, “It was after my 3rd shingle that I got approached for this film. That apart I was given a free hand to not just lend my voice by producing the numbers from a scratch but also croon them to perfection and I think that freedom is extremely necessary in this field.”

Talking about the music in The Journey Of Karma, Danish Alfaaz avers, “I have 3 tracks in the film and all completely different from each other. While 1 is a sad number, the other one is a cozy romance track and the last one being a dance number,”

Danish Alfaaz further adds, “I’ve given my all to these 3 tracks and I want my debut to be loved by all. Just hoping all my 3 numbers goes down well with the audiences.”

Well, given Danish Alfaaz’s popularity with just 3 tracks & the growth he has had in the film industry, we really hope Danish Alfaaz has a long stay in Bollywood.

After bye polls BSY is the next CM of Karnataka

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MP Shobha Karandlaje claimed that BJP’s state president, B S Yeddyurappa, would become the next Chief Minister of the state after the bypolls which will be held next month.

Address the media at Jamkhandi, claimed many Congress legislators would resign from the party to join the BJP after the bypoll results were declared on November 6.

They criticised JD(S) president, former Prime Minister, H D Deve Gowda for backing Congress president, Rahul Gandhi for the post of Prime Minister in 2019.

PTI

ED files chargesheet against Chidambaram in Aircel Maxis case, Patiala House courts

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a chargesheet in the the Rs 3,500 crore Aircel-Maxis deal case naming former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and a few others.

The supplementary prosecution complaint was filed before a special court in the Patiala House Courts Complex.

The chargesheet named Chidambaram, S. Bhaskararaman, the Chartered Accountant of Chidambaram’s son Karti, Aircel Televentures Ltd., Augustus Ralph Marshall, a resident of Malaysia, and others as accused in the case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

IANS

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