INDIA
Court allows film’s release
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a legal attempt to block the global release of a Bollywood film that has sparked violent protests, warning against prejudging the controversial historical epic. Caste-based groups have been staging violent demonstrations against Padmavati amid rumors that it depicts a romance between a Hindu queen and a Muslim ruler. The epic was scheduled for release in the nation on Friday, but delayed indefinitely after the board of censors refused to certify it. A number of officials, including state leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, had vowed to ban screenings of the film in their jurisdictions unless controversial sections were removed. The leader of a caste-related group also offered 50 million rupees (US$769,000) to anyone who “beheaded” lead actress Deepika Padukone or director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
THAILAND
Police arrest 16 protesters
Police have arrested 16 people who were protesting against the construction of a coal-fired power plant, drawing criticism of the military government from rights activists and environmentalists. The planned power plant in the southern province of Songkhla will consist of two 1,000-megawatt units and is part of a power development plan to 2036, but activists object to its expected environmental and health impact on communities in the area. The 16 protesters were arrested on Monday as they traveled from Thepa District, the site of the plant, to the provincial capital to present a petition to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who was due in the city yesterday for a meeting. “This incident shows the true face of Thailand’s military dictators, who have committed a long list of abuses and repressions since the May 2014 coup,” said Sunai Phasuk, Thailand researcher for US-based group Human Rights Watch.
INDIA
Six Britons freed from jail
Six Britons who were among 35 crew on a US-operated anti-piracy ship serving jail terms for illegal weapons possession yesterday left prison after their court acquittal. The six were collected from prison by British embassy officials and were seen being driven away. A high court on Monday overturned five-year jail terms passed on the six Britons, three Ukrainians, 14 Estonians and 12 Indians in January last year. “Officials from Estonian embassy are still inside the prison. Once the process is completed, 14 Estonians and three Ukrainians will also be released,” Chennai deputy inspector general of prisons Murugesan said.
GERMANY
Liberal mayor stabbed
The mayor of a small town known for his liberal migrant policy was stabbed in the neck at a snack stand on Monday evening and seriously hurt. A man who witnessed the attack in the town of Altena told German television that a man, probably under the influence of alcohol, stabbed the mayor in the neck with a 30cm-long knife while shouting criticism of his asylum policy. “The security authorities believe that there was a political motive to this attack,” North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Armin Laschet said. The attacker was arrested and state prosecutors in Hagen are investigating attempted murder, media reported. No one was immediately available at the prosecutors. The 57-year old mayor, Andreas Hollstein, who has written a book about his fight against the far-right, was badly hurt, but was treated in hospital and has said he is back home with his family.
ARGENTINA
Sub reported short-circuit
In their last message, the crew of a missing submarine reported an electrical short-circuit caused by seawater which had started a fire, A24 television channel reported on Monday. The ARA San Juan on Nov. 15 reported that seawater had entered the ventilation system, causing a battery on the diesel-electric vessel to short-circuit and start a fire, according to the text of the message. Authorities are still searching for the sub.
UNITED STATES
Conyers accused of touching
A former deputy chief of staff for US Representative John Conyers says the veteran lawmaker made unwanted sexual advances toward her, including inappropriate touching. Deanna Maher, who ran a Michigan office for him from 1997 to 2005, told the Detroit News that there were three instances of inappropriate conduct. She says the first was in 1997 during an event with the Congressional Black Caucus, when she rejected his offer to share a hotel room and have sex. The others involved unwanted touching in a car in 1998 and unwanted touching of her legs under her dress in 1999. Conyers’ attorney Arnold Reed questioned why Maher continued to work for him after the alleged incidents. Maher says she needed a job at age 57 and feared no one would hire her.
UNITED STATES
Appointee leaves State
A senior official overseeing a reorganization of the Department of State that has been criticized by current and former diplomats has stepped down after less than four months on the job, officials said on Monday. Maliz Beams, a former financial industry executive who was named department counselor on Aug. 17, is “stepping away” to return to Boston, a department spokesman said on condition of anonymity. Christine Ciccone, the department’s deputy chief of staff, will take over the agency’s “redesign,” he added. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been criticized by current and former diplomats and members of Congress for his management of the agency, where may top posts have not been filled nearly 10 months into his tenure and there has been an exodus of senior diplomats.
UNITED STATES
NYC dancing ban repealed
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday signed into law the repeal of a 91-year-old piece of legislation that had technically banned dancing in thousands of bars, clubs and restaurants in the city. The city council voted overwhelmingly on Oct. 31 to axe the law, which took effect in 1926 during Prohibition and which campaigners decried as racist, saying it was used initially to crack down on Harlem’s jazz clubs, where blacks and whites mixed. “It’s 2017 and this law just didn’t make sense. Nightlife is part of the New York melting pot that brings people together,” De Blasio said. “We want to be a city where people can work hard, and enjoy their city’s nightlife without arcane bans on dancing.” The city will still require security guards and surveillance cameras for many of the dance venues.
UNITED STATES
Reprieve for Indonesians
Dozens of Indonesians fighting deportation on Monday won another reprieve when District Court Judge Patti Saris in Boston ruled that a federal court has the authority to take up their case. She rejected the government’s argument that the court does not have jurisdiction in the matter and that immigration officials should be allowed to immediately deport the 50 or so Christians. Their attorney called the judge’s decision “enormously significant.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing
RSS