January 2018

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22 JANUARY 2018 WORLD www.theasianindependent.co.uk Dalits stage angry protests across Maharashtra over Pune violence, CM orders probe Mumbai : Angry Dalits staged rail and road blockades and took out processions in Mumbai and carried out agitations in different parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday to protest against violence in Pune a day ago which left one youth dead. The Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, a Dalit party headed by Prakash Ambedkar - the grandson of Bharat Ratna B.R. Ambedkar, called for a 'peaceful Maharashtra shutdown' on Wednesday to express anger over the Pune incidents. On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of Dalits took to the streets in Chembur, Mankhurd, Ghatkopar, Bhandup and other strongholds in north-eastern parts of the city demanding action against the perpetrators of the Pune riots. Scores of Dalit youth blocked the Harbor Line of Central Railway near Chembur on Tuesday afternoon, leading to stoppage of the local train services for hours. Several lakhs of commuters were stranded on stations or in stationary trains and many preferred to walk on the railway tracks to their destinations. Similarly, hundreds of youths swooped onto the roads in eastern suburbs asking shops, restaurants and commercial establishments to down shutters, and staged road blocks. However, police intervened and traffic movement resumed, though it resulted in massive vehicular snarls all over the city, some several kilometres long. Protests and violent incidents were witnessed in other parts of the state, including Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Beed, Nashik, Pune, Solapur, Thane and Palghar as Dalits expressed their ire over Monday's incidents in Koregaon-Bhima in Pune district. At least 25 buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, besides private luxury buses and other vehicles, were damaged in stone pelting by riotous mobs. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge and a CID investigation into Monday's violence in Koregaon- Bhima. The disturbances erupted in the village of Koregaon-Bhima on January 1 during the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Anglo-Maratha War between the army of Peshwa Bajirao II with a small force of the East India Company that comprised a large number of Dalits. Several lakhs of Dalits had congregated around the Victory Pillar (Vijay Stambh) erected by the British in Sanaswadi village when suddenly stone pelting started, allegedly by some right-wing groups carrying saffron flags. In the clashes that ensued between the two groups, more than 30 vehicles, including buses, police vans and private vehicles, were torched or damaged and one youth, Rahul Fatangale, 28 of Nanded lost his life. The police fired tear gas to control the mobs and prohibitory orders were imposed in the entire Pune district, with the situation reported tense but calm on Tuesday. On Tuesday in most districts, protesters staged road blockades stopping traffic and enforced shutdown of shops and commercial establishments even as additional police forces were deployed. Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar blamed the state government for "lapses" that resulted in the Monday violence. "Why did the administration not take adequate precautions for this event which has been celebrated peacefully for 200 years? Due to its lapses, there was confusion and rumour-mongering, resulting in the violence," Pawar demanded. Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday hinted at a "big conspiracy" in the recent spurt in sporadic caste-related violence that has been erupting in the state, which needs to be thoroughly investigated and "the hidden hand" must be exposed. On his part, Ambedkar appealed to his supporters to ensure that Wednesday's shutdown call in the state passes off peacefully without inconveniencing the public and demanded action against those responsible for the Koregaon-Bhima incident. US state rings in 2018 with a whiff of marijuana LOS ANGELES: The arrival of the new year in California brought with it broad legalisation of marijuana, a much-anticipated change that comes two decades after the state was the first to allow pot for medical use. The most populous state of the US joins a growing list of other states, and the nation’s capital, where so-called recreational marijuana is permitted even though the federal government continues to classify pot as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD. Pot is now legal in California for adults 21 and older, and individuals can grow up to six plants and possess as much as an ounce of the drug. But finding a retail outlet to buy non-medical pot in California won’t be easy, at least initially. Only about 90 businesses received state licenses to open on New Year’s Day. They are concentrated in San Diego, Santa Cruz, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Palm Springs area. Los Angeles and San Francisco are among the many cities where recreational pot will not be available right away because local regulations were not approved in time to start issuing city licenses needed to get state permits. Meanwhile, Fresno, Bakersfield and Riverside are among the communities that have adopted laws forbidding recreational marijuana sales. For those who worked for this day, the shift offered joyful relief. “We’re thrilled,” said Khalil Moutawakkil, founder of KindPeoples, which grows and sells weed in Santa Cruz. “We can talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of the specific regulations, but at the end of the day it’s a giant step forward.” (Continue from 22 Page) Widows too have right... Should women not contribute to nation building or do they lose right to citizenship or their capacities to govern or lead once they become widow? I hope she has not forgotten that Indira Gandhi was one of the most powerful prime ministers of the country, a leader which people still remember as prime minister even today in Modi era in many parts of India. Hope the intellectuals of SanghParivar will look into these aspects and provide ideas to the government. In the meanwhile, we can say no government in the world would be able to serve their citizens if they are guided and surrounded by the religious fanatics whether in India, Pakistan or any other country. Constitutional values must uphold dignity of individuals and equal opportunities to all which the religious laws have never granted. Political governments can't impose religious values and therefore we expect government to think about these issues. Will Sushmaji ever learnt that her theatrics damages the cause of women in India particularly those who lose their husband and want to live life in dignity and contribute towards making our society better and humane. Baba Saheb Ambedkar developed Hindu Code Bill in the greater interest of the Hindu women which gave her right to divorce and right in property too and was thoroughly opposed by the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and the Hindutva ideologues like Shayama Prasad Mukherjee as well as many conservative elements in the Congress party including the then president DrRajendra Prasad. Will the government promote widow remarriages and their honorable rehabilitation so that they too can feel part of our life and share their happiness and sorrows like any other citizen so that they are not compelled to live life in dejection in various bhajanashrams of Brindavan and Varanasi ? May be, Sushmaji can start the process.
www.theasianindependent.co.uk 20 killed in Kabul suicide bombing Kabul, At least 20 persons have been killed and 30 others injured here in a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State terror group, an official said. The attack happened on Thursday night in Banaee area of Kabul where a group of police officers were handling a protest, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. A police official told Efe news that the suicide attacker was on foot and wore a vest loaded with explosives that he detonated near the policemen watching the demonstration. Earlier, the police said 11 people, including five police personnel, were killed. The number of fatalities jumped to 20 on Friday. The Islamic State took responsibility for the attack through its news outlet Amaq. It said a suicide attacker with an explosives vest had targeted “a gathering of Afghan intelligence and police”. Tawab Khan, a resident, said a large number of security personnel had gathered in the area for a crackdown on shopkeepers involved in trading illicit substances. Several shops and vehicles were also damaged in the area. When Sharif took cricket diplomacy to CHOGM LONDON: Cricket diplomacy took a back seat after former Pakistan president Zia-ul-Haq launched it in the tense backdrop of India’s Operation Brasstacks in February 1987, but as prime minister in 1991, Nawaz Sharif evidently made a success of it in Harare. Zia had surprised the Indian establishment by travelling to Jaipur to watch an India-Pakistan Test, days after India held one of its largest military exercises. Tensions eased after he met late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi during that visit. Newly released classified papers in the UK reveal that Sharif, who began his first prime ministerial innings in November 1990, suggested that a “Crickathon” be held during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Harare, featuring leaders and cricketers. It was enthusiastically agreed to by Britain’s then cricket-loving prime minister, John Major, who believed that “after the English language and the common law, cricket is the third unifying thread of the Commonwealth”, the papers released by the National Archives show. The match was held on October 18 and featured the prime ministers of Pakistan (Sharif), Britain (Major), Australia (Bob Hawke) and Jamaica (Michael Manley). India was represented by former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao, but there is no record of his wielding the bat or the ball. WORLD SEOUL: Kim Jong Un on Monday warned the US that he has a “nuclear button” on his desk ready for use if North Korea is threatened, but offered an olive branch to South Korea, saying he was “open to dialogue” with Seoul. Pyongyang dramatically ramped up its efforts to become a nuclear power in 2017, despite a raft of sanctions. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un warned the United States on Monday he has a “nuclear button” on his table but offered an apparent olive branch to South Korea in a New Year message, saying he was prepared for talks and may send a team to the Winter Olympics there. Kim struck a generally defiant note after a year of rising tensions marked by the North’s multiple missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test -- purportedly of a hydrogen bomb. “We must mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their JANUARY 2018 23 90% Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh under-nourished: UN Dhaka, A new UN study has revealed that over 90 per cent of the recent Rohingya refugee arrivals in Bangladesh are under-nourished despite receiving emergency food assistance. The World Food Programme (WFP) Rohingya Emergency Vulnerability Assessment and food security sector partners study in November and December 2017 raised concerns over limited access to a well diversified and balanced diet, deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq announced on Friday. As a result, he said, the WFP will scale up its e-voucher programmes in 2018 to reach new arrivals in Cox’s Bazar district, reports Xinhua news agency. Some 90,000 people are enrolled in WFP’s e-voucher programmes where Erdogan: US, Israel meddling in Iran, Pakistan Massive stars are abundant in nearby galaxy than thought London, Astronomers have discovered an “astonishing” overabundance of massive stars in a neighbouring galaxy, to our own Milky Way which are more abundant than previously thought. Using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope, the researchers discovered nearly 1,000 massive stars in 30 Doradus — a gigantic stellar nursery in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy also known as the Tarantula nebula. “We were astonished when we realised that 30 Doradus has formed many more massive stars than expected,” said lead author Fabian Schneider, research student at the University of Oxford. The team used detailed analyses of about 250 stars with masses between 15 and 200 times the mass of our Sun to determine the distribution of massive stars born in 30 Doradus – the socalled initial mass function (IMF). With the dicovery in 30 Doradus, the scientists derived the most accurate high-mass segment of the IMF to date, and showed that massive stars are much more abundant than previously thought. Until recently, the existence of stars up to 200 solar masses was highly disputed, and the study shows that a maximum birth mass of stars of 200-300 solar masses appears likely. “We have not only been surprised by the sheer number of massive stars, but also that their IMF is densely sampled up to 200 solar masses,” added co-author Hugues Sana from the University of Leuven in Belgium. The discovery, published in the journal Science, has “far-reaching” consequences for our understanding of how stars transformed the pristine Universe into the one we live in today, the researchers said. NUCLEAR LAUNCH BUTTON ALWAYS ON MY DESK : KIM Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday blasted the US and Israel for their “meddling” in the internal affairs of Iran and Pakistan. Since protests broke out across Iran last week, US President Donald Trump has voiced his support for the demonstrators, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised them for taking to the streets to protest against the government, Xinhua news agency reported. Trump also lashed out at Pakistan for “lying” and not rendering enough help to hunt down terrorists. While addressing the press in Istanbul before leaving for France for a visit, the Turkish President said the same intervention was also seen in countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan and Chad. “Look, all these countries are Islamic countries and their peoples are all Muslims,” he said. Erdogan also urged Washington to reconsider “its sense of justice” as a Turkish banker was convicted in a US court for helping Iran evade sanctions. “If this is the US understanding of justice, then the world is doomed,” said the Turkish leader. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy Chief Executive Officer at Turkey’s Halkbank, was accused of several charges including bank fraud and conspiracy to violate US sanctions law, in a New York federal court on Wednesday. Erdogan claimed that Washington had been operating a process that includes “a serious chain of plots” against Ankara. “Not only in law but also in economy as well,” Erdogan said, warning that bilateral legal accords with the US were “losing validity”. Turkey- US ties have been strained over an array of issues, including Washington’s military support to Syrian Kurdish militia, whom Ankara listed as terrorists, and its refusal to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish cleric who allegedly masterminded the failed coup in Turkey in July 2016. they receive a monthly amount on a prepaid debit card which can be used in allocated shops to buy 19 different foods, including rice, lentils, fresh vegetables, eggs and dry fish, Haq said. The e-programmes contrast with WFP’s food distribution program for new arrivals which include rice, vegetable oil and lentils. It’s an emergency ration designed to provide basic calories, but lacking in dietary diversity, the spokesman said. The study also recommends the scaling up of a livelihood support programme within host communities prioritising especially women who have no income, he said, adding that the WFP is providing food and food vouchers to more than 700,000 refugees. More than 650,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 25, 2017, when rebel Rohingya militia launched deadly attacks against security forces in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The action allegedly triggered retaliation attacks by Myanmar vigilantes and government troops, forcing Rohingyas to flee into Bangladesh. There already were about 300,000 Rohingyas who had fled earlier into the neighbouring country. deployment,” he said in his annual televised address to the nation. He reiterated his claim that his country had achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state but insisted the expansion of the weapons programme was a defensive measure. “We should always keep readiness to take immediate nuclear counter-attacks against the enemy’s scheme for a nuclear war.” The North claims it needs nuclear weapons to protect itself from a hostile Washington and has st of targeting the US mainland with an atomic warhead. US President Donald Trump has responded to each test with his own amplified declarations, threatening to “totally destroy” Pyongyang and taunting Kim, saying he was on “a suicide mission”. But far from persuading Kim to give up his nuclear drive, analysts say Trump’s tough talk may have prompted the North Korean leader to push through with his dangerous quest. Skip Hire No.1 Skip can provide a quick quote and supply skips across the UK. Our range of skips can accommodate all waste types depending on the size of skip. 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January 2018

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