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Saudi air strikes kill children in Yemen’s Hajjah area

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by Al Jazeera

At least 30 Yemenis, including women and children, were killed in a series of Saudi-led air strikes in north Yemen, activists and local media said.

Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a pro-Houthi activist, told Al Jazeera at least 16 air strikes targeted the village of Hiran in Hajjah province on Tuesday, killing 30 people, including a family of 10.

Quoting local residents, Bukhaiti said the raids started shortly after midnight, targeting the home of Sheikh Hamdi, a Houthi loyalist, killing him and his family.

The strikes reportedly continued until 5pm local time (14:00 GMT). According to Bukhaiti, the devastation prevented relatives and rescue workers from retrieving the bodies of the dead.

Al Masirah, a TV channel run by the Houthis – a group of rebels who control Hajjah province, the capital, Sanaa, as well as other parts of central Yemen – said 10 paramedics were also killed.

It published photos on Twitter and its website showing a bombed-out vehicle and dead children.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims.

Yemen has been torn apart by conflict since 2014, when Houthi rebels, allied with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, captured large expanses of the country, including Sanaa.

A coalition of Arab countries assembled by Saudi Arabia launched an air campaign against the rebels in March 2015, to try to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

Since then, more than 10,000 people have been killed, millions were forced from their homes, and the country has been facing severe famine and a deadly cholera outbreak.

HC refuses stay on Tipu Jayanti Celebrations

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Bengaluru: The High Court on Tuesday refused to grant a stay on the controversial issue of celebrating the Tipu Jayanthi by the state government.

The division bench of Acting Chief Justice HG Ramesh and Justice PS Dinesh Kumar refused to stay the celebrations in the state, especially in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu districts.

Last Friday, the court had sought to know whether the expenditure to be incurred on Tipu Jayanti celebrations to be held across the state on November 10 had the “authority” of the state budget, reported PTI.

Manjunath from Virajpet had filed a public interest litigation seeking a stay on the celebration of Tipu Jayanti in Udupi and Kodagu district, claiming that it would lead to law and order problem.

(Agencies)

Mary Kom wins gold at Asian Boxing Championship

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Ho Chi Minh City: Star Indian boxer MC Mary Kom defeated North Korea’s Hyang Mi Kim in the 48 kg category to clinch gold in the Asian Boxing Championship here on Wednesday.

The Olympic bronze medallist got the better of her opponent in a unanimous 5-0 verdict to win her fifth gold at the Asian Boxing Championship and first in the 48 kg category.

(IANS)

Ryan student who wanted exams postponed killed Pradhuman: CBI

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New Delhi: A 16-year-old student of Ryan International School in Gurugram who wanted exams and a scheduled meeting between teachers and parents delayed is the prime accused in the murder of Class 2 student Pradhuman Thakur, the CBI said on Wednesday.

CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said the Class 11 student was detained on Tuesday night after “inspection of the crime spot, scrutiny of CCTV footage, call records, statements and questioning of several people” revealed that he had carried a knife inside the school campus on the day of the crime and used it to kill his junior school mate.

“The weapon used in the commission of crime is a knife which was recovered initially by police in Gurugram (Haryana). It is now with us,” Dayal told reporters here.

He said the detained student was weak in studies and “wanted to have examination and parent-teacher meeting postponed”. Pradhuman, 7, was his random target.

The parents of the detained student were kept informed throughout the investigation, said the spokesperson for the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The CBI took over the case on September 22 from Haryana Police, nearly two weeks after the Class 2 boy was found with his throat slit in a school bathroom.

The accused will now be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, where the court is expected to decide whether he is to be treated as a major or a minor as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

The Haryana Police had earlier claimed that Pradhuman was killed by school bus conductor Ashok Kumar inside the toilet as the boy resisted a bid to sodomise him.

While Ashok Kumar was arrested, Pradhuman’s parents and two other staffers have claimed that he was being made a scapegoat.

(IANS)

Mallya to be declared PO; Court asks him to appear by Dec 18

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New Delhi: A Delhi court today initiated the process to declare beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya as a proclaimed offender for allegedly evading summons in a FERA violation case. It has now given him the last opportunity to appear before the court by December 18.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Shehrawat directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take appropriate steps while initiating the process.

The court passed the order after ED’s Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta informed it that the open-ended non- bailable warrant (NBW) issued earlier against Mallya has been returned as unexecuted and the agency has no other option but to initiate the process under Section 82 and 83 of CrPC. The agency is likely to take various steps, including publishing in newspapers regarding the matter.

The court had on April 12 issued an open-ended NBW against the liquor baron. An ‘open-ended NBW’ does not carry a time limit for execution unlike ‘NBW’.

On November 4 last year, while issuing non-bailable warrant against Mallya, the court had observed that he had no inclination to return and had scant regard for the law of the land.

It had said that coercive process has to be initiated against liquor baron Mallya as he was facing proceedings in several cases and evading appearance in those matters.

The court had also held that Mallya’s plea, that he wanted to return to India but was “incapacitated” to travel as his passport had been revoked by Indian authorities, was “malafide” and “abuse of the process of law”.

Mallya, who is reportedly in London, had submitted before the court on September 9 that he wanted to come back to India but was “incapacitated” to travel despite “best intentions” as his passport had been revoked.

On July 9, the court had cancelled the exemption from personal appearance granted to Mallya and directed him to appear before it on September 9.

The exemption from personal appearance to Mallya was granted in December 2000 on ED’s complaint for evading summons issued by it.

The agency had issued summons to the businessman in connection with alleged payment of USD 200,000 to a British firm for displaying Kingfisher logo in Formula One World Championships in London and some European countries in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

It had claimed that the money was allegedly paid without prior approval from the RBI in violation of FERA norms.

In its plea against Mallya, ED had also sought issuance of non-bailable warrant against the Chairman of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines to secure his presence in the ongoing trial of the case, which is at the final stage.

According to ED, Mallya was summoned on four occasions for questioning in connection with a contract signed in December 1995 with London-based firm Benetton Formula Ltd for promotion of the Kingfisher brand abroad.

When Mallya failed to appear before ED in response to the summons, a complaint was filed on March 8, 2000 before a court here and later charges were framed against him under FERA.

(PTI)

Demonetization ‘hasty, immature decision’ that hurt the poor: Mayawati

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Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the first anniversary of demonetization, saying the “hasty and immature” decision had hurt millions of poor in the country “very dearly”.

In a statement, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 last year had put the common man in huge discomfort and added that people were still reeling under the aftermath of demonetization.

She also lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for observing November 8 as “anti-black money day” and suggested that they should rather observe it as “sorry for demonetization day”.

She said the note ban move was cosmetic and aimed at hoodwinking people of the country on action against graft and added that the “Paradise Papers” had “exposed” the BJP and its leaders on their claimed commitment against corruption at high places.

Demonetization, she went on to allege, was to benefit some top notch businessmen and industrialists, and instead of wiping out corruption in the country, it had in fact created new ways and means to amass black money and also safeguard ill-gotten money.

The BSP supremo claimed that it was her party that spoke “factually and technically correctly” on the bane of demonetization, something that was now being proved as correct after one year.

Will the BJP now seek forgiveness of the people of India for their folly, she went on to ask and said the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would continue to expose the wrong policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre before the people of the country.

(IANS)

Saudi Arabia princes detained, ministers dismissed

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by Al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia has dismissed a number of senior ministers and detained nearly a dozen princes in an investigation by a new anti-corruption committee, state media reported on Saturday.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire businessman who owns the investment firm, Kingdom Holding, was among those held, according to Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed senior official.

The senior ministers who were sacked include Prince Mitaab bin Abdullah, the head of the National Guard, and Adel Faqih, the economy minister.

Abdullah al-Sultan, commander of the Saudi navy, was replaced by Fahad al-Ghafli.

In a statement on the official Saudi news agency, SPA, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud alluded to the “exploitation by some of the weak souls who have put their own interests above the public interest, in order to illicitly accrue money” for the creation of the anti-graft committee.

Anti-corruption probe
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel reported that at least 11 princes, four current ministers and several former ministers had been detained in the anti-corruption probe.

Saudi authorities have not confirmed the names of those detained. However, 14 former and current ministers, officials and businessmen were mentioned on social media as being among those held.

One of those mentioned is Waleed al-Ibrahim, chairman of the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), under which Al Arabiya operates.

According to Al Arabiya, the new committee, which is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is looking into the 2009 floods that devastated parts of Jeddah, as well as the government’s response to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus outbreak.

King Salman issued a statement saying that the committee shall “identify offences, crimes and persons and entities involved in cases of public corruption”.

The committee has the power to issue arrest warrants, travel bans, disclose and freeze accounts and portfolios, track funds and assets, and “prevent their remittance or transfer by persons and entities, whatever they might be”, according to the statement.

‘Accelerated change’
The shake-up of the Saudi government comes just months after King Salman replaced his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef with his son Mohammed bin Salman as the kingdom’s crown prince.

Mohammed bin Salman has been responsible for pushing through a number of changes both at home and abroad since he became first in line to the Saudi crown.

Ian Black of the London School of Economics said the move fit a “pattern of accelerated change” since Mohammed bin Salman became heir to the throne.

“We’ve seen since June this year, very far-reaching changes,” he said, adding: “That was when Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, was appointed crown prince.

“Since Mohammed bin Salman became the crown prince in June, we’ve seen a lot of upheaval. We’ve seen the announcement of this very ambitious Saudi plan to transform the country, the Saudi economy, Vision 2030.”

The dismissal of Mitaab bin Abdullah as National Guard minister came shortly after a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport.

However, Black said the two were probably not related as the sacking came bundled with changes to other ministerial portfolios.

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia announced an end to its long-standing ban on allowing women to drive, and Mohammed bin Salman has also promised to return the country to a “moderate” form of Islam.

Since 2015 Saudi Arabia has been at war against Houthi rebels, who control much of northern Yemen on the kingdom’s southern border.

What does this mean? Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara explains:

“There have been signs over the last two and a half years that more of this is coming. [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] is raising the leverage of power in Saudi Arabia. He certainly has the blessings of his father, King Salman, and he’s determined to make all kinds of changes in Saudi Arabia itself and in Saudi foreign policy, which led to the war in Yemen and the Gulf crisis.

But internally this is new. Not only do we have a new chapter opening up in Saudi Arabia, we have a whole new book, a whole new political alphabet with one exception: It’s still all done in secrecy. Why those 11 princes, why those four standing ministers? Is it really just to consolidate power or is there more to it?

Why isn’t there more transparency and sharing of evidence about the setting up of the committee? We really are on the brink of dramatic changes.

In 2015, Mohammed bin Salman became minister of defence. Just a few months ago, he became the head of all the internal security forces because they got rid of Mohammed bin Nayef, then crown prince. Now he’s taken control of the third most important security apparatus within the country, so he has defence, he is in control of interior, and now he is in control of the guards.

Clearly, he has the stage set. Clearly all the heads of all the major media networks, newspapers, and commentators were all already groomed, set in motion in order to defend the crown prince and his policies. There are already new songs for the crown prince and his glory, so internally they are definitely setting the stage in terms of the three security apparatuses, the media and so on.

President Trump has given his blessings and support to the crown prince with the hundreds of billions of dollars of promised contracts, so he’s certainly supporting his various ambitions in the region, most importantly that of the confrontation with Iran in the region. This is something that Trump really wants as well as apparently a promised rapprochement with Israel.

In the tradition of Saudi Arabia, revolting against the royals is not a good idea. It’s never been recommended. But does it all end with this or will it lead to more? I think it will lead to more, but will it then lead to discontent among Saudis? It just might.”

Saudi air strikes ‘rain down’ on Yemen’s capital Sanaa

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Yemen’s capital was struck by overnight air raids that continued well into the next day, targeting the defence ministry and a popular public square [Mohammed Huwais/AFP]

by Al Jazeera

The Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen carried out at least 29 air strikes on Sanaa province, hours after Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile towards the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Residents told Al Jazeera that bombs “rained down” on several neighbourhoods of the capital on Sunday, targeting a stage in al-Sabeen square used by Houthi rebels for military parades, the nearby presidential palace, the national security headquarters and the interior ministry.

The Houthi-run Saba news agency reported more than 15 air strikes in Sanaa and a further 14 in the districts of Sinhan and Bani Bahloul.

Fatik al-Rodaini‏, an activist based in the capital, told Al Jazeera some of the raids targeted Sanaa’s old city, a UNESCO world heritage site.

“This is the worst day I’ve experienced since the start of the war,” Rodaini said.

“I am fearing for my children’s lives. They haven’t gone outside all day. Just a few minutes ago I was thinking of letting them run to the shops but we heard another loud explosion and my wife said ‘no’.

“The Saudis don’t care about our children, our future, our lives. They know that civilians live in close proximity to government buildings yet they continue to target those areas – they just don’t care.”

Hours earlier, the Saudi military confirmed intercepting a ballistic missile that was fired from Yemeni territory towards the kingdom.

‘Riyadh sleeps peacefully’
Colonel Turki al-Maliki said Saudi forces intercepted the ballistic missile with a surface-to-air Patriot missile, which caused it to shatter into fragments in an “uninhabited area” east of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.

The Houthis – a group of rebels who control Saada province, the capital Sanaa, as well as other parts of central Yemen – claimed responsibility for the attack, vowing to target the capitals of all Arab countries that are bombing the country.

“Riyadh slept in peace and comfort and last night due to the efforts of the Saudi armed forces,” al-Maliki said.

“We will continue to target the Houthis and their missiles that are sponsored by the Iranians,” he added.

In an interview with Al Jazeera earlier this month, Mohammed Abdul Salam, a spokesman for the Houthi rebels, threatened to escalate operations on the Yemeni-Saudi border and target deep inside the kingdom.

“The Saudis started the war. Our response will continue and increase, whether it’s targeting deep inside Saudi Arabia, targeting military positions where Saudi jets fly from, or military bases inside Yemeni territory,” Abdul Salam said.

“Abu Dhabi and others that target Yemen are – as far as we’re concerned – a fair military target. Any country that targets Yemen will be struck by our missiles.”

Yemen, which sits on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has been engulfed in war since September 2014, when Houthi fighters swept into the capital and overthrew President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s internationally recognised government.

Concerned by the rise of the Houthis, believed to be backed by regional rival Iran, Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Sunni Arab states launched an intervention in 2015 in the form of a massive air campaign aimed at reinstalling Hadi’s government.

Since then, the Houthis have been dislodged from most of the south, but remain in control of Sanaa and much of the north.

India, NZ battle-ready for series finale

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(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Thiruvananthapuram: With series levelled at 1-1, India and New Zealand will aim to outplay each other in the third and final Twenty20 International match to seal the series at the Greenfield International Stadium here on Tuesday.

But the spectators might not witness full 20-overs each side because the series decider here is under rain threat.

The meteorological office here has also predicted that the weather will be generally cloudy with a few spells of rain or thundershowers starting from Sunday till Wednesday.

Apart from this, it will be a thrilling contest between the two team which are evenly matches on the paper as well as on the field.

To clinch the series, India have to display a better show in both batting and bowling department while New Zealand would like to continue with the same momentum.

India, comprehensive beat the visitors in the first match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. In the second match, New Zealand bounced back in style and defeated India by 40 runs.

Opting to bat first on winning the toss, the visitors rode on an unbeaten quickfire century by opener Colin Munro to post 196/2 in their allotted 20 overs. Munro batted through the innings, smashing 109 runs off 58 deliveries.

In reply, the hosts could only manage to post 156/7.

So, in order to beat the visitors, Indian batsmen have to click this time. The middle-order batsmen like Shreyas Iyer, Manendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya have to click in unison.

The bowling department was also seemed struggling on the flat pitch. Apart from pacer Jasprit Bumrah, no other bowlers troubled the batsmen in the previous match.

Spinners also failed to step up to the occasion and were smashed all around the park. But, in the decider, the gloomy conditions and pitch might favour India.

India skipper Virat Kohli also have to make the plan for the Duckworth Lewis method which might come in the play.

New Zealand, on the other hand, displayed a brilliant performance. There only problem is the consistency.

In the first match New Zealand were outplayed in every department of the game and in the second match they grouped together and showed their class. So, in order to seal the deal this time they have to repeat the same performance.

The fans might see a interesting battle between both the teams if India and New Zealand played as per the expectations.

Squads

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

New Zealand : Kane Williamson (c), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips (wk).

(IANS)

Grandson of HD Deve Gowda to Contest in Next Assembly Elections in Karnataka

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Hassan: Grandson of JDS national president HD Deve Gowda, Prajwal Revanna has reportedly obtained green signal from his grandfather to contest in the next assembly elections in Karnataka.

Speaking to media persons here in Haradarahalli in Hassan, Bhavani Revanna, mother of Prajwal said her son would contest in the next assembly elections and he has obtained permission for this from party supremo HD Deve Gowda.

Deve Gowda will decide the constituency in which Prajwal should contest in the state assembly elections scheduled for early 2018. He is very likely to contest either from Belur constituency or Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru.

(Agencies)

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