Archives for 2021

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday came down heavily on Punjabi singer and actor Yo Yo Honey Singh for not appearing before it in a domestic violence case filed by his wife.

Expressing displeasure, the court told Singh’s lawyer, “Honey Singh has not appeared. You have not filed his income affidavit and are not prepared with the arguments.” The metropolitan magistrate gave Singh one last opportunity to appear before the court and asked him not to repeat this conduct again.

Shalini Talwar has filed a domestic violence case against her singer-actor husband and sought Rs 20 crore as compensation from him under the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act.

Advocate Ishan Mukherjee, appearing for Singh, filed a reply to her complaint and apprised the court that she has already taken all the valuables with her, including jewellery, and can come to reside at her in-laws’ home in Noida in 15 days.

“We are ready to accommodate her. We will build a wall. It can be provided to her in 15 days,” Mukherjee said, adding that Singh has two properties costing around Rs 4 crores, of which property worth Rs 1 crore belongs to Shalini Talwar.

Hirdesh Singh, known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh, and Talwar tied the knot on January 23, 2011. In her plea, Talwar charted out how she was physically assaulted by Singh over the last 10 years.

She has also alleged that Honey Singh cheated on her. The 38-year-old woman claimed that she was subjected to numerous incidents of physical, verbal, mental, and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband and his family.

Talwar alleged that Singh and his family broke her mentally and emotionally to the extent that she almost started identifying herself as a “farm animal”.

MEXICO CITY: An all-woman Afghan robotics team known as the “Afghan Dreamers” are now safe in Mexico, and say they want to help others who remain in their country after the Taliban takeover.

“Many people are leaving, but there are still girls who have dreams, there are also people who have dreams, and we want countries around the world to help Afghanistan to have peace over there so that the girls over there can have the opportunities to continue their path as well.”

The four women, accompanied by a sister and another man, arrived Tuesday after travelling through six countries to reach Mexico.

They fled Afghanistan after the takeover of the country earlier this month by the Taliban, who have been hostile to women working or going to school after a certain age.

They said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press that they intended to keep working, and save those who were left behind.

“The reason that we left was that we didn’t want our history to be ended by Taliban,” said Saghar.

“We wanted to continue the path that we started to continue to go for our achievements and to go for having our dreams through reality. So that’s why we decided to leave Afghanistan and go for somewhere safe.”

Saghar, 17, who along with her teammates has competed in robotics competitions and won an award in 2017.

The young women, who have embroidered team uniforms, had won international attention, and had recently taken on the challenge of constructing ventilators out of car parts for COVID-19 patients.

But their very success made it dangerous for them in Afghanistan.

“The situation outside of our homes were really high, risky, and even especially for our team who have been, you know, has a high profile, status and achievement and which is not something that is in favor of the Taliban regime,” said Saghar.

The young women had decided to flee a month or two before their western city of Herat fell to the Taliban in early August; the tension had become unbearable.

“We were so stressed out we couldn’t eat and sleep well for many days,” said Saghar.

“And we were like, even crying many times and sitting together and crying and thinking about what a solution can we have.”

Mexico’s interior secretary, Olga Sánchez Cordero, said Wednesday that Mexico would grant asylum “to those Afghan citizens who require it.”

It is unclear how many more Afghans will be able to get out.

Mexico welcomed another group of 124 Afghan media workers and their families Wednesday after the group fled their country because of the Taliban takeover.

The Foreign Relations Department said the Afghans had worked for The New York Times and “various media outlets” and had requested humanitarian visas because of the Taliban’s hostility toward journalists.

Mexico’s offer of safe haven to Afghan journalists is a sharp contrast in a country that is unable to protect its own reporters.

But Mexico said the Afghan Dreamers will be allowed to choose where they want to go, which country they choose to seek asylum in, and what they want to do.

“Mexico is not expecting them to stay or go, but rather that they decide what they want to do,” said Assistant Foreign Relations Secretary Martha Delgado.

For now, the young women are thinking about everything they had to leave behind, and all the other Afghans condemned to live under the Taliban’s harsh rules.

“It was really quite hard when we decided to leave Afghanistan because we left our beloved ones over there, our home, our memories, and everything over there,” Saghar said.

“We, you know, saved our selves from that situation, we had calls from the children and our families saying that please save us the same as you did for yourself.”

“We hope that we find a way to help them as well,” she said.

THIRUVALLA: Popular chef and film producer Noushad, 55, who has been suffering from abdomen-related ailments for the last three years, has died. 

Noushad was the owner of ‘Naushad the big Chef’, a leading catering and restaurant group in Kerala. He ventured into the film industry by producing Blessy’s first film, ‘Kazhcha’, starring Mammootty. Filmmaker Blessy was Naushad’s classmate.

In 2005, Kazhcha won him the state government’s best producer award. He later went on to produce films such as ‘Chattambi Nadu’, ‘Best Actor’, ‘Spanish Masala’, ‘Lion’ and ‘Payyans’. Naushad is the son of K C Kani, owner of Noushad Hotel at Thiruvalla.

Naushad was known to have prepared delicious food for the celebrities and VIPs including the vice president of India.

He has also been a judge of various contests on food preparation. He also gained attention by presenting recipes on various television channels and has been in the catering industry for over three decades.

Naushad had sought treatment in Vellore three years ago for a stomach ailment. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital in Kochi for more than a year due to a spinal cord injury. He underwent a heart surgery five months ago. He was admitted to a private hospital at Thiruvalla a month ago.  

He had lost his wife Sheeba (51) to a heart attack on August 12. He is survived by his 13-year-old daughter Nashwa.

Noushad’s body will be brought home at 11 am on Friday before taking it to the SCS school ground at 1 p.m. Funeral will be held at Muttur Juma Masjid near Tiruvalla at 3 p.m.

ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court on Thursday quashed criminal proceedings against paediatrician Kafeel Khan over an anti-CAA speech made by him at the Aligarh Muslim University campus due to lack of necessary sanction from the government.

However, he made it clear that the chargesheet and its cognisance may be taken by the court after the mandatory sanction is granted under section 196 (a) of the CrPC by the central as well as the state government.

The chargesheet and cognisance order was passed against Khan by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Aligarh in a case wherein Khan had delivered an alleged inflammatory speech during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at AMU in 2019.

Following the event, an FIR was lodged against Khan under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 505(2) (statement creating or promoting, enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and 109 (abetment of offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Consequently, he was arrested and sent to jail.

The police submitted the chargesheet before the Aligarh court on March 16, 2020 and the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) took its cognisance on July 28, 2020.

Khan then filed a petition challenging it.

According to section 196(a) of the CrPC, no court shall take cognisance of any offence under section 153A of the IPC except with the previous sanction of the central government or state government or the district magistrate.

DEHRADUN: Two officials in Uttarakhand have been suspended for their alleged involvement in the fake COVID-19 testing scam during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

The action is based on the recommendation of a probe committee set up by the Haridwar District Magistrate to look into the fake testing scam.

“Corruption and carelessness at any level will not be tolerated. Stern action will be taken against anyone who is found guilty in connection with the scam,” Dhami said.

The probe panel found the officials to have been hand in glove with the companies involved in carrying out the fake rapid antigen tests during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

It had recommended disciplinary action against them for being reckless and causing financial losses to the state.

The probe committee headed by the Chief Development Officer of Haridwar had submitted its report to the government on August 16.

Meanwhile, Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj S has been asked to take appropriate legal action against the companies involved in the fake testing scam through the SIT probing it.

KABUL: Afghans on Thursday hurried to escape Taliban rule, but Western officials said the group had made assurances that some evacuations would be permitted after next week’s US withdrawal deadline. 

Over 80,000 people have been evacuated since August 14, but huge crowds remain outside Kabul airport hoping to flee the threat of reprisals and repression in Taliban-led Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the Taliban had made commitments to allow departure of Americans, “at-risk” Afghans and people from other nations even following Tuesday’s cutoff.

“They have a responsibility to hold to that commitment and provide safe passage for anyone who wishes to leave the country,” Blinken told reporters.

He added that at least 4,500 American citizens of the 6,000 who said they wanted to leave Afghanistan have already departed.

Washington and its allies have been flying out thousands of Afghans every day on hulking military transports, but it has become an increasingly difficult and desperate task.

– Pleas for help –

Many Afghans fear a repeat of the brutal five-year Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001, as well as violent retribution for working with foreign militaries, Western missions and the previous US-backed government.

There are particular concerns for women, who were largely banned from education and employment and could only leave the house with a male chaperone during the group’s 1996-2001 rule.

The Afghan capital’s airport has been gripped by chaos as US-led troops try to maintain a secure perimeter for evacuation flights, surrounded by desperate Afghans.

Some have foreign passports, visas or eligibility to travel, but most do not. At least eight people have died in the chaos.

“Does anyone… ANYONE… have a contact inside the airport,” pleaded one American on a WhatsApp group set up to share information on how people can access the airport.

“My guy worked for us 2010-15 and needs to get out with 5 of his family. This is real bad.”

The Taliban have also been accused of blocking or slowing access for many trying to reach the airport, although they have denied that charge.

Biden said the Taliban were taking steps to assist, but there was also an “acute and growing risk” of an attack by the regional chapter of the Islamic State jihadist group.

Despite the harrowing scenes at Kabul airport, the Taliban have ruled out any extension to next Tuesday’s deadline to pull out foreign troops, describing it as “a red line”.

“They have planes, they have the airport, they should get their citizens and contractors out of here,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Turkey, which had more than 500 non-combat troops stationed in Afghanistan, said Wednesday it had started pulling out its forces.

The withdrawal signalled an apparent abandonment of the plans it had been negotiating to help secure Kabul’s strategic airport after the American departure.

Belgium said Wednesday it was ending evacuations from Kabul after its military planes withdrew around 1,100 people — including Europeans and Afghans — in recent days. 

European nations have warned they will not be able to airlift all at-risk Afghans before August 31.

“Even if (the evacuation) goes on… a few days longer, it will not be enough,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Bild TV.

A hard withdrawal deadline presents a further complication that may reduce the number of daily evacuations.

But Germany’s envoy to Kabul said a Taliban negotiator had assured him Afghans who have the right documents will still be allowed to leave after the deadline.

The United States deployed fresh troops for evacuations.

That 6,000-plus contingent, as well as hundreds of US officials, 600 Afghan troops and the equipment, will have to be flown out.

To do that by August 31, the Pentagon said operations would have to start winding down days in advance.

Following their lightning victory that stunned the world, the Taliban have so far been content to allow the US-led operation to continue, focusing instead on consolidating control and forming a government.

They have vowed a different, more inclusive regime this time around, offering amnesty to opponents.

An aid worker in Khost, a deeply conservative region in the southeast that fell to the Taliban shortly before they seized Kabul, told AFP the attitude of the former insurgents has so far been “much softer” than people expected.

“But the people are afraid of a bad economic situation,” he added.

Many Afghans, however, remain fearful and sceptical.

The Taliban spokesman on Tuesday urged skilled Afghans to not flee, saying the country needed “expert” Afghans such as doctors and engineers.