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Attacks on Nigerians ‘xenophobic, racial’: African envoys to India

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Nigerians attacked

New Delhi: In a strong reaction to attacks on African nationals, heads of African missions in India termed the incidents as “xenophobic and racial” and asserted that no known, sufficient and visible deterring measures have been taken by the government.

The envoys, who recently held a “special” meeting on the incidents, called for an independent investigation by the Human Rights Council as well as other human rights bodies and also to comprehensively report the matter to the Commission of the African Union.

They said they expectated a strong condemnation from the highest political level both nationally and locally. A press release dated March 31 from the office of the dean of the African group head of the missions here, said the meeting was convened to look into the recent attacks against African students in Greater Noida.

“The meeting unanimously agreed that those accumulated attacks against Africans are xenophobic and racial in nature,” they said. They reviewed the incidents that have taken place in the past and concluded that no known, sufficient and visible deterring measures were taken by the Indian government, it said.

Condemning the recent attacks, they expressed their deep concern and also noted that these “reprehensible events, both outstanding and unresolved cases against Africans, were not sufficiently condemned by the Indian authorities”.

There are missions of more than 50 African countries which are accredited to India. Four Nigerian students were attacked by a group of Greater Noida residents who took out a candle-light march last after a 17-year-old boy Manish died due to suspected drug overdose.

The protest march was taken out after the police released some Nigerians detained for questioning in connection with death of Manish, a class 12 student, due to “lack of evidence”.

(PTI)

Journalists allege threat of drone execution by US

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Fearing assassination, Al Jazeera’s Ahmad Zaidan and independent journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem file US legal complaint.

Bilal Abdul Kareem has been reporting from rebel-held northern Syria since 2012 (Twitter).

Bilal Abdul Kareem has been reporting from rebel-held northern Syria since 2012 (Twitter).

by D. Parvaz, Al Jazeera

Washington DC – Two journalists who say they have been targeted by the United States have filed a complaint against the American government, accusing it of putting them on a “kill list” and demanding to be taken off it.

The complaint was filed in the US District Court of the District of Columbia on Thursday on behalf of Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan – a dual Pakistani-Syrian citizen who works for Al Jazeera and Bilal Abdul Kareem, an American who has freelanced for Al Jazeera.

It accuses the US government of using information gathered via its Skynet surveillance programme, which has been used to guide drone strikes on “terror suspects”.

The plaintiffs accuse the United States of conspiracy to commit murder outside its borders and violating international law on targeting civilians.

Filed by UK-based rights group Reprieve and the Washington DC-based law firm Lewis Baach, the complaint asks the court to declare the journalists’ inclusion on the list illegal, and issue an injunction removing their names until they can review the secret evidence against them. It also asks the US to cease any planned strikes against the plaintiffs.

Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve’s founder and director, said the timing of the filing is linked to information his organisation has received from a secret source in Turkey who claims an attempt on Abdul Kareem’s life is imminent.

“We know they’re targeting Bilal and we’ve got to intimidate them enough, through publicity, to prevent them from doing this,” said Stafford Smith.

He told Al Jazeera there is no doubt the men are on the list of targets the US government is going after.

“When you look at Ahmad Zaidan … we have a copy of their [US] leaked Power Point saying he’s on the list. So that’s pretty powerful,” Stafford Smith said.

He said the case of Abdul Kareem is “even stronger”, as the US has allegedly targeted him several times before.

“The reason we know that is that three of those strikes, at least, maybe more, were drones, and the only country that had weaponised drones at the time was the US,” said Stafford Smith.

According to Reprieve’s research, it is not uncommon for the United States’ drone programme to require several attempts before killing a target, even ones such as Abdul Kareem or Zaidan who are not in hiding.

“The US misses on average three times for each person they’re trying to target. And with some people as many as nine or 10 times… Even a cat has only nine lives,” Stafford Smith said.

Named after the artificial intelligence system in the Terminator movies, Skynet uses metadata – such as geolocation and social media activity – to flag individuals as potential “terrorist” threats, placing them on the so-called kill list – also referred to as the ” disposition matrix ” in the complaint.

“When you use an algorithm, it sounds very fancy, but an algorithm carries with it all the biases of the person who wrote it… This is the same problem with Skynet,” said Stafford Smith.

“The people who are really the ‘bad dudes’ out there, like Osama bin Laden, are not tweeting to anyone – they’re not sending text messages to [current al-Qaeda chief] Ayman al-Zawahiri.”

The sort of activities carried out by reporters in the normal course of doing their job, he said, is essentially what landed both men on the kill list.

Over the course of his career, Zaidan has interviewed senior leaders of groups listed as “terrorist” organisations by the US, including former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, head of the group formerly known as al-Nusra Front in Syria. He served as Al Jazeera Arabic’s bureau chief in Pakistan for many years, and is now an executive producer of programmes.

In a document leaked in 2015, the US National Security Agency alleged that Zaidan was a member of al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood – allegations that he countered in an op-ed detailing his meetings with members of al-Qaeda and other groups.

Abdul Kareem was one of the few independent journalists reporting from the ground during the battle for Syria’s Aleppo last year for a number of outlets, including Al Jazeera. He has also interviewed members of the Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate in rebel-held areas.

The complaint filed on Thursday stated: “Neither Zaidan nor Kareem pose a continuing, imminent threat to US persons or national security. Neither Zaidan nor Kareem is a member or supporter of any terrorist group. Inclusion of Zaidan and Kareem on the kill list under these circumstance was arbitrary and capricious, and an abuse of discretion.”

In Abdul Kareem’s case, being targeted also violates his constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment – prohibiting illegal seizure of evidence, in this case, data – as well as the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees US citizens due process.

The complaint has been filed against President Donald Trump, the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, the CIA, as well as several security-related agency and department heads.

Requests for comment were not responded to by the time of publication.

China Uighurs: Ban on long beards, veils in Xinjiang

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Beijing says new rules are necessary to fight ‘extremism’ but rights groups have called similar restrictions repressive.

Many Uighurs have complained of cultural and religious repression and discrimination by China, an accusation Beijing has denied [How Hwee Young/EPA]

Many Uighurs have complained of cultural and religious repression and discrimination by China, an accusation Beijing has denied [How Hwee Young/EPA]

by Al Jazeera

China has banned “abnormal” beards and full-face coverings in the remote western region of Xinjiang as part of tighter “anti-extremism” regulations that also prohibit rejecting state media.

Xinjiang is home ot about 10 million Uighur Muslims, who have said they routinely face discrimination.

Hundreds of people have died in recent years in the region due to unrest blamed by Beijing on “separatists”, though rights groups say the violence is more a reaction to repressive Chinese policies.

The new legislation took effect on Saturday and lists a wide range of restrictions, including rejecting or refusing “radio, television or other public facilities and services”, marrying using religious rather than legal procedures and “using the name of Halal to meddle in secular life of others”.

The rules also ban not allowing children to attend government schools, not abiding by family planning policies, wearing robes that cover the whole body and face and “abnormal growing of beards and naming of children to exaggerate religious fervour”, according to the text of the rules published on a government website.

It did not clarify how the rules would be enforced.

Many Uighurs complain of cultural and religious repression and discrimination by China . Beijing has denied the accusations.

A number of similar regulations had previously been introduced in some places in Xinjiang, including stopping people with headscarves , veils and long beards from boarding buses in at least one city. The new rules, however, expand the list and formally apply them to the entire region.

The popularity of veils for Uighur women in particular has grown in recent years in what experts say is an expression of opposition to Chinese controls.

China has said Xinjiang faces a grave separatist threat from Uighur fighters allegedly linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), prompting the government to ramp up surveillance measures and police patrols. The government has provided little evidence for such claims.

ISIL released a video in late February purportedly showing Uighur fighters training in Iraq and vowing to strike China, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a “great wall of iron” to safeguard Xinjiang, referencing the military response following the pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Rights groups have said that Chinese religious restrictions on Muslims may have driven more than 100 to join ISIL.

Petrol price cut by Rs 3.77 a litre, diesel by Rs 2.91

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petrol-price

New Delhi: The price of petrol is cut by Rs 3.77 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 2.91 a litre, the first change in rates in two-and-a-half months.

State-owned oil firms cut rates with effect from midnight tonight. Petrol currently costs Rs 71.14 a litre in Delhi and Diesel is priced at Rs 59.02 per litre.

Petrol price will be cut by Rs 3.77 per litre, excluding state levies, said Indian Oil Corp (IOC). Actual decrease will be larger after taking into account the local levies. Similarly, diesel rate was cut by Rs 2.91, excluding state levies.

Rates were last revised on January 16 when price of petrol went up by 54 paise. On that date, diesel rates were hiked by Rs 1.20 a litre.

“The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and INR-USD exchange rate warrant decrease in selling price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision,” IOC said in a statement.

IOC said the movement of prices in the international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes.

(PTI)

Bizarre: Life term for killing cows, CM Vijay Rupani says want ‘vegetarian’ Gujarat

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vijay rupani

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government Friday amended the state’s Animal Preservation Bill to entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment and a minimum of 10 years for cow slaughter after it was passed in the assembly in the absence of the Opposition Congress and with the visitors’ gallery packed with saffron-clad Hindu priests.

Speaking on the amendment, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that while he was “not against any food”, he wanted to make Gujarat “shakahari (vegetarian)”, “We do not want Jersey cows, but Gir and Kankreji cows instead,” he said.

Rupani also described Gujarat as a “unique state”, which followed the tenets of Mahatma Gandhi — “non-violence and truth”. “This is Gandhi’s Gujarat, Sardar’s (Vallabhbhai Patel) Gujarat and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s Gujarat,” said Rupani.

The passage of the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 came eight months after seven Dalits were beaten by self-styled cow vigilantes for alleged cow slaughter in Una.

The punishment for cow slaughter under the earlier law was imprisonment ranging from three to seven years. The new law also makes offences under the amended Act non-bailable.

The amendment was cleared after the Speaker suspended members of the Congress for creating a ruckus before the Bill was passed.

When the amendment Bill was introduced over a month ago, it had a maximum punishment of ten years imprisonment. On Friday, however, the ruling BJP moved to enhance the punishment to a life-term.

In another major amendment, the Bill included a provision that vehicles caught in transporting cows, beef or beef products illegally will be forfeited to the state government. The maximum fine for the offence has also been increased from Rs 50,000 to one ranging from Rs 1 lakh-Rs 5 lakh.

Besides, the punishment for conviction for illegal transportation of cow, beef or beef products has been increased from three years imprisonment to seven years.

The Act allows transportation of animals of cow progeny with permission, but not between 7 pm and 5 am.

The statement of the Bill reads, “In the year 2011, the State Government had made certain amendments in the said Act for better implementation of the Act. It is, however, experienced while implementing the said Act that still more stringent provisions are required to be made by amending the said Act for curbing the menace of illegal slaughtering of the animals covered under the said Act to provide for more stringent punishment and effectively check the rampant use of vehicles for transporting such animals.”

During the discussion on the Bill, Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja said, “This is not a Bill, but a feeling of crores of Indians. It is my humble attempt to give voice to the cows being killed by butchers. A single drop of cow blood falling on earth pains Hindus. With this law, Vijaybhai Rupani’s government will make Gujarat cow-slaughter-free.”

Jadeja also offered his respects to the “Hindu saints” in the visitors gallery, and said that he was “feeling proud as a Hindu” to introduce the Bill in the House.

One of those present in the gallery, Kaniramji Bapu of Dudhrej in Surendranagar district, an important religious seat of the maldhari community (cattle herders) in Gujarat, said, “We oppose cow slaughter and believe in its preservation. And so, we came here in support of the Act. Cows should be preserved and their slaughtering must end.”

Another religious figure, Mahant Vikramgiri from Ghela-Somnath of Jasdan in Rajkot district, said, “Around 300 sadhu-sants have come to Assembly. Since the government had announced that they will bring the Bill, we knew it in advance and are here to support it.”

In 2011, when Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, the state government had imposed a complete ban on slaughter of cows, transportation and selling of cow meat by amending the Act.

(Agencies)

Karnataka Congress leader Jaffer Sharief backs Mohan Bhagwat for President, writes to Modi

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Jaffer Sharief Mohan Bhagwat

New Delhi: Senior Karnataka Congress leader C K Jaffer Sharief on Saturday differed from his party’s stand on reports of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat being considered as a candidate for the post of President. In a letter purportedly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sharief supported Bhagwat’s candidacy and said nobody should have objections about it.

“There are different schools of thought in India and it is but natural for such a vast country. Mr. Mohan Bhagwat may belong to one school of thought but there should not be any doubt about his patriotism, love for the people of India and loyalty to the nation,” Sharief reportedly wrote in the letter.

The 83-year-old’s surprise backing of Bhagwat comes in direct conflict with the Congress party’s stand on the issue.

“It is very clear that we do not support RSS ideology and when it comes to appointing our President, at the right time, we will, of course, have our own internal discussion first and then share,” party leader Gaurav Gogoi told reporters in New Delhi.

It was Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut who began the speculation on Bhagwat when he said the RSS sarsanghchalak should be considered as the NDA candidate for the presidential polls later this year. Current president Pranab Mukherjee’s tenure ends on July 24.

“Bhagwat is a strong leader, a staunch nationalist and has a deep knowledge of the Constitution, so if the BJP wants to make India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, his name must be considered.. He is the most ideal candidate,” Raut had said.

Bhagwat himself, however, made it clear that he was not interested in the post. “We close all doors on politics before coming here. When we work in the Sangh, we don’t go there (to such high posts). There are many Swayamsevaks up there and they know it well,” the RSS chief said adding that even if his name was nominated, he would not accept it.

(Agencies)

For BJP, cow is ‘mummy’ in UP, but ‘yummy’ in northeast: Owaisi

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Asaduddin Owaisi

New Delhi: AIMIM president and Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue of cow slaughter.

While speaking to news agency, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said, “BJP’s hypocrisy is that in Uttar Pradesh it considers cow as ‘mummy’, but in Northeast it’s yummy.”

Notably, cow is considered to be a sacred animal in Hindu religion and the BJP, which registered a landslide victory in the recently held Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, has long campaigned for the protection of cows.

Owaisi’s comments came in the backdrop of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launching a crackdown on illegal slaughter houses in the state.

The LS member had earlier said the Uttar Pradesh government should give time to illegal abattoirs for regularisation instead of just recklessly sealing them.

Cow slaughter is not banned in northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

(Agencies)

US says Assad’s overthrow no longer a priority

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While acknowledging the Syrian president is a ‘hindrance’ to peace, US ambassador to UN says he is no longer the focus.

bashar-al-assad

by Al Jazeera

The United States has said that it is no longer focused on ousting President Bashar al-Assad as it seeks a new strategy to end Syria’s civil war.

American officials have been shifting away from their former insistence that he must go for some time, but now they have made it explicit.

In New York on Thursday, the US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemned Assad’s history of human rights abuses against his own people.

But she said Washington would focus on working with powers like Turkey and Russia to seek a political settlement, rather than focusing on Assad.

“You pick and choose your battles,” Haley told reporters.

“And when we’re looking at this, it’s about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit and focus on getting Assad out.”

Shortly after Haley briefed a small group of journalists, US officials tried to clarify her comments.

A US mission official told Al Jazeera that while the US does not believe that Assad is a legitimate leader of Syria, his future is not the country’s only concern.

The official said the US is also very interested in trying to create the conditions so that the Syrian people themselves can pick their new government, one without Assad.

Other objectives of the US in Syria are to get rid of the threat from ISIL and to curb Iranian influence, the official said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also addressed the future of Assad at a news conference in Turkey.

“I think the… longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people,” Tillerson said, standing alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The comment reflected language long used by Assad’s ally Russia, whose assistance Washington is courting.

Opposition angered

The Syrian opposition, whose cooperation will be needed in any negotiated solution, reacted furiously to the US shift in stance.

“The opposition will never accept any role for Bashar al-Assad at any phase,” said Monzer Makhos, a spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee, which represents the opposition in negotiations over Syria’s war.

“There will be no change in our position,” he warned.

Under Barack Obama’s administration, the US made Assad’s departure a key goal, but new president Donald Trump has put the accent on defeating the Islamic State of Iraq of the Levant group, known as ISIL or ISIS.

“Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done? Who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria,” Haley said.

“We can’t necessarily focus on Assad the way the previous administration maybe did. Do we think he’s a hindrance? Yes,” she said.

“Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No.”

Previously, the United States has stuck by a UN-backed peace plan that would see Assad “transition” from office while an interim government is formed.

Tillerson is due in Moscow next month for talks with Russian leaders, and Trump has long argued the powers should work together against ISIL.

US-backed forces are closing in on the group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, laying the groundwork for an assault on the city.

Numerous diplomatic efforts have failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted in 2011.

A fifth round of UN-sponsored peace talks is taking place in Geneva but no breakthrough has been reported and they are scheduled to end on Friday.

Ashwin, Vijay set to miss IPL 10

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Ravichandran Ashwin

New Delhi: India Test regulars Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay, who represent Rising Pune Supergiant and Kings XI Punjab respectively, will reportedly miss the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to injuries.

According to a report in Wisden India, both Ashwin and Vijay will miss the entire tournament.

Ravindra Jadeja, who was man of the series in the just concluded Test series against Australia and fast bowler Umesh Yadav may also give the initial stages of the T20 league a miss.

Even Lokesh Rahul, who finished as the second highest scorer in the Border-Gavaskar series, is out of the IPL.

“Yes I have been ruled out of the IPL, don’t want to get into the details at this point. You will get an official word from the Royal Challengers Bangalore,” Rahul, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), told CricketNext.com.

Rahul is expected to go to London soon to undergo surgery.

Rahul first injured his shoulder during the Test series against England, not fully recovering while playing in the series against Australia.

India and RCB skipper Virat Kohli will also miss the initial matches of the cash-rich league after he picked up a shoulder injury during the third Test in Ranchi.

RCB will open their campaign against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5.

(IANS)

Girls of residential school forced to strip by Principal

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Girls school strip

Muzaffarnagar: A group of girls at a residential school here were allegedly threatened and forced to strip by the Principal, following which an inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

According to a complaint filed by the parents of the victims, the students of Kasturba Gandhi Residential School at Digri village were Thursday forced to strip by the Principal.

The Principal allegedly threatened the students of dire consequences if they disobeyed her command, District Primary Education Officer Chander Kesh Yadav said.

An enquiry has been ordered, he said.

“There was no teacher around. We were called downstairs (from the hostel). Madam made us take off our clothes saying she will beat us if we did not. We are kids, what could we do? She would have beaten us if we did not obey her,” one of the students said.

The Principal, however, has denied the allegations.

“No one asked them to remove clothes. All this is a conspiracy by the staff because they do not want me to stay here. I had been asked to check whether the staff were performing their duties. I am strict, that is why they hate me,” she said.

Meanwhile, 35 out of the total 65 students of the school left after the reports of harassment by the Principal surfaced.

Many students have come forward with similar allegation, Yadav said, adding the matter is being probed.

(PTI)

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