Petition seeks direction to Centre to control black magic and conversion by intimidating, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court to issue a direction to the Centre and States to control black magic, superstition and religious conversion by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits. Supreme Court to hear Jamiat on religious conversion laws“Religious conversion by ‘carrot-and-stick’ or ‘by-hook-or-crook’ not only offends Articles 14 [right to equality], 21[right to life] and 25 [right to religious freedom], but also against the principles of secularism, which is an integral part of…
Author: Mike Harrison
High voltage campaign of the LDF has eclipsed the UDF, beset by internal fissures Even as several pre-poll surveys indicate a continuity of the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule in Kerala, questions are also raised about the presumed watershed electoral politics in the State. But a silent undercurrent of anti-incumbency appears to be prevailing among the voters.Rarely has the electorate rewarded incumbent State governments, especially in Kerala, with consecutive terms in recent times. Either it is the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) or the Left alliance. This see-saw voting pattern has been seen in the State since the…
The public interest litigation also alleged corruption in police transfers and postings and political interference in probes. On April 5, the Bombay High Court will pronounce its order on the public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into his allegations against Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.On March 20, Mr. Singh wrote a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that Mr. Deshmukh had directed suspended police officer Sachin Vaze to collect ₹100 crore from bars and restaurants a month. The senior IPS officer then moved…
Policemen on duty tried to push the devotees which led to clashes. Overnight clashes between devotees and law enforcement personnel at a shrine closed due to coronavirus restrictions left nearly 50 people, including policemen, injured in Pakistan’s Sindh province, prompting authorities to deploy paramilitary troops on Friday morning.The incident at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan on Thursday night took place after the provincial government announced the closure of all shrines to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.The clashes took place after hundreds of devotees, who had gathered in Sehwan for the annual Urs, defied government orders and tried…
‘The US can return to the deal and stop breaching the law in the same way it withdrew from the deal and imposed illegal sanctions on Iran,’ says Iran’s nuclear negotiator Iran and the major powers in the agreement to keep Tehran from developing nuclear weapons said on Friday they were ready to welcome the return of the United States to the deal.The chair of the group including the European Union, China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran said that the participants “emphasized their commitment to preserve the JCPOA and discussed modalities to ensure the return to its full and…
State Department spokesperson Ned Price called the resumption of negotiations, scheduled for Tuesday in Vienna, ‘a healthy step forward.’ The United States and Iran said on Friday that they would begin negotiations through intermediaries next week to try to get both countries back into an accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program, nearly three years after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal.The announcement marked the first major progress in efforts to return both countries to the 2015 accord, which bound Iran to restrictions on its nuclear programs in return for relief from U.S. and international sanctions. President Joe…
Ashok Gehlot said most of the patients being tested during the second wave of infection are being found asymptomatic. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday expressed concern over the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the State, saying most of the people infected in the second wave of the spread of the disease are being found asymptomatic. “Now the coronavirus has become more dangerous than earlier. In such a situation, we all have to show seriousness. I appeal again to everyone to strictly follow the anti-Covid protocol of wearing masks, frequently washing hands and maintaining social distance. Even a…
The step would send a negative message to foreign buyers as cotton yarn was not available in the country, stakeholders say, adding that prices of cotton yarn have increased after the decision. Pakistan’s struggling textile industry has voiced its disappointment after the Imran Khan government rejected a proposal to import cotton from India, the world’s biggest producer, saying it is the need of the hour to avoid a massive export decline, a media report said on Friday.The federal Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Khan on Thursday rejected the proposal of a high-powered committee to import cotton from India, with Foreign…
Fiber-based landline internet connections were still working, albeit at drastically reduced speeds. Myanmar’s wireless broadband internet services were shut down on Friday by order of the military, a local provider said, as protesters continued to defy the threat of lethal violence to oppose the junta’s takeover.A directive from the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Thursday instructed that “all wireless broadband data services be temporarily suspended until further notice,” according to a statement posted online by local provider Ooredoo.Also read: Myanmar protests continue a day after more than 100 killedFiber-based landline internet connections were still working, albeit at drastically reduced…
A train partially derailed along Taiwan’s east coast, killing at least 34 people and injuring dozens, police said.Media reported 350 passengers were on board.Reports said a truck fell from a cliff above and landed on the tracks, where a train emerging from a tunnel smashed into it.With much of the train still trapped in the tunnel, escaping passengers were forced to scale doors, windows and roofs to reach safety.The crash occurred near the Toroko Gorge scenic area around 9 a.m. on a public holiday.The crash occurred near the Toroko Gorge scenic area around 9 a.m. on a public holiday.Media reported…