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Soldier, guerrilla killed in Kashmir gunfight

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Pakistani-troops-fire

Srinagar: A soldier and a Hizbul Mujahideen guerrilla were killed in a gun battle on Wednesday in a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said.

Security forces surrounded a house in Ladoora (Rafiabad) village early on Wednesday morning after learning that militants were hiding there. This triggered a fierce gun battle between the two sides.

The soldier from the Rashtriya Rifles and a militant died in the gun battle, a police official told IANS.

The slain militant was later identified as Riyaz Ahmed, a resident of Sopore. Officials later said he was the only militant holed up inside the house.

(IANS)

Icelanders call on government to take in more Syrian refugees

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12,000 in country, which currently accepts just 50 refugees, sign open letter with many saying they would house Syrians in their own homes

A double rainbow at Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland. The country has been named as the most peaceful on earth, with Syria the least. Photograph: Jorunn Sjofn/Rex Shutterstock

A double rainbow at Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland. The country has been named as the most peaceful on earth, with Syria the least. Photograph: Jorunn Sjofn/Rex Shutterstock

by Jessica Elgot, The Guardian

Thousands of Icelanders have called on their government to take in more Syrian refugees – with many offering to accomodate them in their own homes and give them language lessons.

Iceland, which has a population of just over 300,000, has currently capped the number of refugees it accepts at 50.

Author and professor Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir put out a call on Facebook on Sunday asking for Icelanders to speak out if they wanted the government to do more to help those fleeing Syria. More than 12,000 people have responded to her Facebook group “Syria is calling” to sign an open letter to their welfare minister, Eygló Harðar.

Speaking on Iceland’s RÚV television, Bjorgvinsdottir said her country’s attitude was being changed by the tragic news reports. “I think people have had enough of seeing news stories from the Mediterranean and refugee camps of dying people and they want something done now,” she said.

“Refugees are human resources, they have experience and skills,” the Icelandic letter reads.

“Refugees are our future spouses, best friends, or soulmates, the drummer for the band of our children, our next colleague, Miss Iceland in 2022, the carpenter who finally finished the bathroom, the cook in the cafeteria, the fireman, the computer genius, or the television host.”

Many of those posting on the group have said they would offer up their homes and skills to help refugees integrate. “I have clothing, kitchenware, bed and a room in Hvanneyri [western Iceland], which I am happy to share with Syrians,” one wrote. “I would like to work as a volunteer to help welcome people and assist them with adapting to Icelandic society.”

“I want to help one displaced family have the chance to live the carefree life that I do,” another wrote. “We as a family are willing to provide the refugees with temporary housing near Egilsstaðir [eastern Iceland], clothing and other assistance. I am a teacher and I can help children with their learning.”

Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, said he was aware of increasing popular pressure to take in more refugees. “I assume that during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting I will propose the establishment of a special committee of ministers to discuss the problem and evaluate how Icelanders can respond, how we can contribute as much as possible,” he told RÚV.

“It has been our goal in international politics to be of help in as many areas as possible and this is one of the areas where the need is most right now.”

Iceland was recently named the world’s most peaceful country in the Global Peace Index, with Syria the least peaceful.

The open letter and offers of assistance from ordinary citizens reflects a shifting attitude towards refugees in some parts of Europe.

Over the weekend, German football fans held up signs at matches welcoming those fleeing persecution, and the German tabloid Bild, not renowned for its liberal attitudes towards immigration, has taken up the cause. Martin Patzelt, an MP from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, has temporarily housed two Eritrean refugees in his home in Brandenburg.

Patzelt said he been contacted by many other Germans offering their homes too, but had also received death threats. “I didn’t want any refugees in my life, but they came. And I took the challenge,” he told EU Observer.

Last month, the Guardian reported on the story of a French family in Calais who gave a Syrian refugee food and shelter every night as he attempted to cross to the UK.

About 20,000 people took to the streets of Vienna on Monday to protest against the treatment of refugees, including senior church leaders and politicians, after the bodies of 71 people were found in an abandoned truck last week.

“We’ve had enough – enough of the deaths, the suffering and the persecution,” the archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, said.

UN: Gaza may be uninhabitable by 2020 on current trends

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New report reveals impact of 2014 Israel war on strip, which sent “almost all of the population into destitution”.

Gaza

by Al Jazeera

Gaza could be “uninhabitable” in less than five years if current economic trends continue, according to a new United Nations report.

The report released on Tuesday by the UN Conference on Trade and Development points to the eight-year economic blockade of Gaza as well as the three wars there over the past six years.

Last year’s Israeli war on Gaza displaced half a million people and left parts of the strip destroyed.

The war “has effectively eliminated what was left of the middle class, sending almost all of the population into destitution and dependence on international humanitarian aid,” the new report says.

Gaza’s GDP dropped 15 percent last year, and unemployment reached a record high of 44 percent. Seventy-two percent of households are food insecure.

The wars have shattered Gaza’s ability to export and produce for the domestic market and left no time for reconstruction, the report says. It notes that Gaza’s “de-development,” or development in reverse, has been accelerated.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade of Gaza since the armed group Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

“The humanitarian catastrophe is man-made. The answer is only through are man-made policies,” Hamdi Shaqqura, the deputy director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera.

Shaqqura said that donations from the international community have been “very useful”, but need to be coupled with “real political policies” to effectively help Gaza.

“The answer to Gaza is not dumping money into it. We have great potentials in Gaza for economic policies. What hinder economic development is merely Israeli policies, the closure (blockade) and other restrictions imposed on Gaza.”

A year after the war on Gaza, less than 2 percent of the required materials have been allowed into Gaza.

The report comes as Egyptian military bulldozers press ahead with a project that effectively would fill Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip with water and flood the last remaining cross-border underground smuggling tunnels, which have brought both commercial items and weapons into Gaza.

The report calls the economic prospects for 2015 for the Palestinian territories “bleak” because of the unstable political situation, reduced aid and the slow pace of reconstruction.

Indrani Mukerjea breaks down, admits killing daughter Sheena Bora

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Indrani Mukherjea

Mumbai: High-profile media entrepreneur Indrani Mukerjea, the main accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, has finally confessed her crime.

After learning that her partners in the crime, ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai have confessed their role in killing the 24-year-old, Indrani broke down during interrogation and admitted her role in killing her daughter Sheena, as per a Times Of India report.

However, she has not revealed the motive behind murdering her own daughter from her first husband Siddhartha Das.

Earlier during the interrogation, Indrani had claimed that her daughter Sheena was alive and was in the United States.

Indrani Mukerjea will be in police custody for three more days. Her husband , TV tycoon Peter Mukerjea will be recording his statement with the police by Thursday.

The investigating police officers are also trying to trace the anonymous caller who had informed them about the mysterious murder, as per reports.

(Agencies)

Drought situation in Karnataka worst in 40 years, says CM

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KARNATAKA JOINT SESSION

Bengaluru: Describing the drought situation in the state as the “worst” in 40 years, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has asked officials to take it as a “challenge”.

He has also warned strict action against negligent officials.

Addressing the Conference of Regional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers of Zilla Panchayats here, he directed that officials and staff should not be sanctioned long leave, unless it is an emergency.

He has also asked them to stop sending officials and staff on training.

Making it clear that there is no shortage of funds, he directed the officials to take all necessary steps to supply drinking water.

Pointing out that there is drought situation in 135 of 176 taluks, he asked officials to take steps to prevent villagers and farmers from migrating by providing them job opportunities under the Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Scheme.

He also stressed on the importance of setting up fodder banks and cow sheds and directed the Chief Secretary to take action against taluk officials who failed in taking steps.

Siddaramaiah advised officials to take precautionary steps to control spread of epidemics during drought.

Expressing concern over farmer suicide incidents reaching the 400 mark till now this year from 58 in 2013-14 and 48 in 2014-15, he said exorbitant loans and private money lenders are the main reason for this, and asked officials to implement steps taken by the government to prevent such incidents.

(Agencies)

Normal life hit across India as millions join industrial strike

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strike

New Delhi: Normal life was hit in many states on Wednesday as millions of industrial and blue collar employees struck work in the first nationwide protest since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power more than a year ago.

Leaders of central trade unions which called the day-long strike claimed “unprecedented success” as banks, insurance companies and state-run as well as private factories shut across the country. Transport unions and traders too joined the protest in many places, leading to the closure of educational institutions and thin attendance in government offices.

“The response has been unprecedented,” veteran union leader Gurudas Dasgupta from the All India Trade Union Congress said. “In Delhi we are seeing such an impact for the first time. We didn’t expect this.”

The strike is in support of 12 demands, including withdrawal of labour law amendments, a minimum wage of Rs.15,000 a month and against privatisation of public sector units. Unions said about 300 million workers were involved in the protest.

The strike was largely peaceful except in parts of West Bengal where clashes were reported in Murshidabad, Howrah and North 24 Parganas between Left activists and members of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Financial services were hit hard as lakhs of bank and insurance employees – including those from cooperative banks and regional rural banks – joined the strike, All India Bank Employees Association general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told IANS in Chennai.

He said the strike was a success in major cities like Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, as well as New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.

But unions in State Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank did not take part. In Mumbai, union leader V. Utagi said: “The strike in the banking and financial services sector is near total. Work at Mumbai Port Trust is hit. And Maharashtra’s 1.50 million government employees have joined us.”

But public buses and Mumbai’s suburban trains plied though their unions lent “moral support” to the strike. A section of cabs and auto-rickshaws in Mumbai also joined the strike, which Utagi said was “a major success”.

In Delhi, banks, insurance companies and industrial areas observed a shutdown. Most auto-rickshaws, the poor man’s taxi, went off the roads. But Delhi Metro reported normal operations.

The strike hit hard life in Kerala, a Left bastion. Most IT firms in Technopark and Infopark reported very thin attendance. Work at the Cochin Port was affected.

The shutdown evoked mixed response in Karnataka. Buses and autos didn’t ply while factories, banks and shops were closed. Thousands of commuters were stranded in cities and towns across the state.

The strike hit transport and banking services in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh too.

Buses of state-owned road transport corporations in both states went off the roads as did auto-rickshaws in Hyderabad and other towns. Truck owners and drivers also joined the strike in some places. Petrol bunks were shut in a few places.

In Bhopal, all state-run public buses remained off the roads. Shops and banks too were shut. The strike was particularly effective in major cities like Indore, Jabalpur and Ujjain.

Normal life was hit in Bihar as thousands of workers in the government and private sector joined the strike. In some places, strike supporters blocked roads and halted train services.

The strike was total in Left-ruled Tripura. All offices, shops, markets, banks and educational institutions were shut while vehicular traffic went off the roads. In Kolkata, while educational institutions and commercial establishments were largely closed, buses and the metro operated normally. But there were fewer commuters.

Train services on the Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway were hit as strike supporters blocked the tracks in several areas.

The strike had the least effect in Tamil Nadu although life was hit in industrial areas besides banks and insurance companies.

The impact of the shutdown in Himachal Pradesh was seen in Shimla, Rampur, Theog, Solan, Mandi, Nahan, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Dharamsala, Palampur, Kangra, Kullu and Manali towns as bus operators joined the protest.

In Goa, markets and public transport were hit hard, union leaders said. Police arrested about 200 workers who had blocked National Highway 17 near the Verna Industrial estate, 25 km from Panaji.

(IANS)

JDS decides to join hands with Cong for BBMP Mayoral poll

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JDS

Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister and JDS Supremo H D Deve Gowda today said his party has decided to join hands with Congress for the Mayoral elections to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body.

“Our party leaders including legislators have decided to join hands with Congress for the Mayoral election,” he told reporters here.

Gowda’s son and JDS president H D Kumaraswamy had yesterday made it clear that his party would join hands with Congress for Mayoral polls. The decision was taken at a meeting with the party’s core group to discuss strategies for the election.

Gowda said the final decision on the alliance would be taken in a meeting between KPCC President G Parameshwara, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy.

“Mallikarjun Kharge, who is a senior Congress leader, had told our partymen to hold talks on the issue at state level since it is a matter concerning corporation poll and there is no need for intervention of High Command,” he said.

Asked if his party had bargained for getting posts, Gowda said, “there is no question of it because the party will get its pieces of cake based on its numerical strength.”

“Except the post of the Deputy Mayor, my corporators will get two chairmanship posts and memberships of various BBMP committees, simply based on numerical strength,” he said.

On allegations of “unethically” forging an alliance to keep BJP out of power from BBMP, Gowda cited instances of Congress-BJP, Congress-NCP and NCP-Shiva Sena alliances for mayoral elections in Maharashtra.

“There are innumerable instances – In Pune, Sharad Pawar forged NCP-Shiv Sena alliance – Do not get embarrassed, in Mumbai, Congress tied up with BJP for mayoral alliance. So there is no need for pondering over such allegations,” he said.

To a query, Gowda said nobody from Congress and BJP had approached him, except Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who was not a representative of the BJP central leadership.

Upsetting Congress plans to wrest control of the BBMP council, BJP won 100 wards out of 198 at the polls held on August 22. Congress had bagged 76, JD(S) bagged 14 and others 8.

Besides Corporators, the 260-member BBMP Council includes 62 other members from Bengaluru with voting rights. They include Members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, MLAs and MLCs.

With the magic number to gain control over BBMP being 131, BJP’s strength including non-corporator members stands at 125, Congress at 111, JDS 21 and others 13.

(PTI)

Nepal police kill protesters amid political unrest

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Clashes during rally against planned new constitution leave at least five demonstrators, who want more autonomy, dead.

More than 20 people have died in protests since those plans were unveiled two weeks ago [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]

More than 20 people have died in protests since those plans were unveiled two weeks ago [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Police have killed at least five protesters as demonstrators threw stones and petrol bombs, angry at a new planned constitution.

Kamal Singh Bam, a police official, said on Tuesday that officers had shot and killed four demonstrators in the town of Birjung in Parsa district, 60km south of the capital Kathmandu, when a police post was attacked.

In a separate clash with police, a fifth demonstrator was killed in the neighbouring district of Bara, police official Lokendra Malla said, without giving further details.

Under the constitutional proposals, 22 districts in the southern plains, also known as the Tarai, would be joined with provinces that are dominated by mountain dwellers.

The protesters, mostly from the Madhesi and Tharu minority communities, are demanding that their narrow strip of homeland should not be divided into more than two states.

More than 20 people have died in protests since those plans were unveiled two weeks ago, with members of two large plains communities demanding greater autonomy under the charter.

The government and major political parties hope that the constitution, in the works for seven years, will provide much-needed political stability and bolster economic development in the Himalayan nation, which is still reeling from two devastating earthquakes that killed 8,900 people this year.

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has called for talks to tackle the problem, but the protesters insist that the constitutional process must be stopped before any dialogue begins.

Adoption of the charter, which requires a two-thirds majority in parliament, would be followed by elections for a new president, prime minister and speaker.

Two more deaths takes Manipur violence toll to six

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A mob set the residences of a Manipur minister and two legislators ablaze on Monday evening to protest the passing of allegedly “anti-tribal” bills in the 60-member assembly. (Photo source: Twitter)

A mob set the residences of a Manipur minister and two legislators ablaze on Monday evening to protest the passing of allegedly “anti-tribal” bills in the 60-member assembly. (Photo source: Twitter)

Imphal: Two more people were killed and a police station was set afire on Tuesday, as the toll in the violence that started on Monday in Manipur’s Churchandpur district over three bills passed in the assembly rose to six.

Violating an indefinite curfew in place in the town, a mob went on a rampage in the streets and set ablaze a police station in Churchandpur town, as police fired blanks to disperse the mob.

“Two people, who were part of the unruly mob, were killed after we (police) were forced to opened fire at them in self-defence and to defend the police station,” district police chief L. Mangkhogin Haokip told IANS.

With Tuesday’s deaths, the toll has risen to six.

Violence erupted on Monday evening following the Manipur government’s adoption of three landmark bills — Protection of Manipur People Bill 2015, Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (seventh amendment) Bill 2015, and Manipur Shops and Establishment (second amendment) Bill 2015.

The bills were unanimously passed in the assembly on Monday after the ruling Congress signed an agreement with the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) on August 25 to enact three laws to protect the interest of the indigenous people.

The mob on Monday evening attacked the residence of five Congress lawmakers, including that of state Health and Family Welfare Minister Phungzathang Tonsing and Outer Manipur Lok Sabha member Thangsoi Baite. However, none of the lawmakers were at their residences.

Three bodies were found in Churachandpur town and a charred body was recovered from the debris at the residence of Congress legislator Manga Vaiphei of Henglep assembly constituency on Tuesday, the police official said.

The mob on Monday evening also set afire the vehicle of Churachandpur Deputy Commissioner Lunminthang Haokip and prevented fire engines from dousing the flames, even as police were forced to resort to a baton charge.

Tribal civil society groups — All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) AKuki Students Organisation (KSO) and All Naga Students Association Manipur, (ANSAM) — opposed the introduction of the bills, saying they overlapped with some points in the Manipur Hill People Administration Regulation Act, 1947, meant to safeguard the interest of tribesmen in the hill areas of Manipur.

(IANS)

Thailand: Main suspect arrested over deadly shrine bomb

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Thai prime minister says foreign man was arrested at checkpoint on Cambodian border in connection with Bangkok attack.

The blast at the Erawan shrine killed 20 people, mainly Chinese tourists [AP]

The blast at the Erawan shrine killed 20 people, mainly Chinese tourists [AP]

by Al Jazeera

Thailand’s prime minister has announced that a second foreign man has been arrested at a checkpoint on the Cambodian border on suspicion of involvement in last month’s deadly shrine bombing.

The announcement on Tuesday was the second confirmed arrest in connection with the August 17 blast that tore through a religious shrine in downtown Bangkok and killed 20 people.

The suspect is being flown back to Bangkok from the border by helicopter.

Prayuth Chan-ocha, who also heads the nation’s military government, was asked by reporters to comment on rumours a man had been arrested.

“He has been arrested at Sa Kaeo checkpoint,” Prayuth told reporters, referring to the Thai side of the border, adding: “He is a main suspect and a foreigner.”

The motive for the blast, Thailand’s worst single mass-casualty attack remains shrouded in mystery.

Alternating suspicion

Suspicion has alternated between Thailand’s bitter political rivals, organised criminal gangs, rebels in the kingdom’s strife-torn south and sympathisers of refugees from China’s Uighur minority.

In July, Thailand deported 109 Uighurs to China, enraging supporters of the minority who allege they face torture and repression back home.

Thai officials have also issued a warrant for a 26-year-old Thai Muslim woman called Wanna Suansan.

Those killed by the blast at the Erawan shrine were mainly ethnic-Chinese tourists from around the region.

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