MUMBAI: India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly criticised states which were demolishing properties of suspected criminals, a practice critics say targets mostly minority Muslims, and issued guidelines to authorities.

The verdict came in response to many petitions filed after demolitions in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in recent years.

BJP governments in the states have torn down what they say are illegal houses or shops of people accused of crimes, many of them Muslims, in what has come to be popularly known as “instant, bulldozer justice”.

Rights groups and opposition parties have denounced the practice, saying it targets mostly poor Muslims while circumventing the judicial process.

Verdict comes in response to many petitions filed after demolitions targeting Muslims

BJP governments have rejected the accusations and said such properties were in violation of local laws and the owners had been served notices.

On Wednesday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the state and its officials cannot take arbitrary action against suspects or convicts without following the due process of law. It also laid down guidelines, including issuing prior notice and taking a video of the demolition process. “It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall on the authorities if they hold their hands for some period,” the court said. There was no immediate reaction to the verdict from the BJP.

Bulldozer action

Calls for India to enshrine Hindu supremacy in law have rapidly grown louder after Modi government’s success in 2014. Hindu nationalist groups were emboldened in their campaign against Muslim religious structures.

“Bulldozer action”, popularly known as “bulldozer justice”, were actions observed by many practitioners as a campaign against the Muslim minority, bulldozing their homes, mosques and shopfronts.

The practices were mainly observed after Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and a saffron-robed Hindu monk seen as a potential successor to Prime Minister Modi, championed the bulldozer as a symbol of his commitment to law and order and as a potential tool to use against “trouble-makers” in 2017. Since then “bulldozer politics” have spread elsewhere in the country and demolition campaigns have begun quickly following on the heels of outbreaks of religious unrest.

Officials said the spate of demolitions were lawful as they only targeted buildings constructed without legal approval. But victims of the campaign deny that their dwellings are illegal, and say they are not given the legally required notice period to dispute demolition orders.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s army said on Wednesday it had arrested 2,500 people and recovered 6,000 guns as it seeks to bolster security since the revolution that ousted ex-leader Sheikh Hasina in August.

Thousands of weapons were looted in the deadly violence during the student-led revolution that toppled Hasina and the immediate chaos after she escaped mass protests and fled to India by helicopter.

More than 3,700 weapons were handed in during an amnesty that ended in early September, with the security forces then launching a weapons sweep to collect the guns.

Colonel Intekhab Haider Khan told reporters that a total of 6,000 illegally held firearms had been collected, along with 200,000 rounds of ammunition. “Our operation is still ongoing,” Khan said.

The interim government that took over after Hasina granted the armed forces judicial power, allowing them to engage in day-to-day enforcement activities like the police. “There has been no directive from the government regarding the army’s withdrawal,” Khan said.

The army rejected reports four people had died in military custody since August, insisting troops were “strictly adhering” to rules. “Should any complaints arise, we will take necessary action,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The Priv­atisation Commission’s board on Wednesday rejected a Rs10 billion bid submitted by the sole bidder for the divestment of 60 per cent shares in Pakistan International Airlines Corpo­ration Limited (PIACL), the privatisation ministry said in a statement.

The board decided to refer the issue of PIA’s privatisation to the Cabinet Committee on Privati­sation for further consideration.

Last month, the final bidding process for the privatisation of PIA attracted just one bid of Rs10bn for a 60pc stake in the national flag carrier.

Only real-estate development company Blue World City participated in the bidding process, placing a bid that was below the government-set minimum price of Rs85bn.

PC Board seeks improved offers for state-owned entities

The government had prequalified six groups in June, but only Blue World City participated in the final bidding process. Due to the huge difference between the expected and actual bids, the commission gave the consortium more time to reconsider its bid. However, Blue World City consortium chairman Saad Nazir kept the price unchanged.

On Wednesday, in a meeting chaired by Privatisation Mini­ster Abdul Aleem Khan, the board discussed advancing privatisation efforts for state-owned entities, including PIA and stressed the need to attract stronger bids in future transactions.

Mr Khan directed that the privatisation process should be carried forward without delay and underscored the importance of securing better offers for upcoming bids.

The board explored various options to expedite PIA’s divestment and reviewed the status of other ongoing privatisation transactions.

Mr Khan said that the framework given by the caretaker government for PIA’s privatisation was taken forward, but “now we have to keep in mind the concerns of the institutions involved in the privatisation”. He emphasised that “we have to learn from the privatisation process of PIA and have to be more active in future”.

The board decided to form a three-member committee to participate in the process of privatisation by members of the board. The meeting was briefed on various issues of privatisation and expressed satisfaction with the development so far.

During the meeting, various proposals were presented for PIA and the process of privatisation, and views were expressed on various issues and important decisions were taken. The minister extended the opportunity to all the Privatisation Comm­ission’s board members and heard their suggestions. Impor­tant issues related to the privatisation of other projects were also discussed.

“The privatisation issues will be completed in accordance with the laws and regulations and keeping in view the national interest before us because the final decision on the issues of privatisation of PIA and other institutions has to be taken by the cabinet committee,” Mr Khan said, according to the ministry’s statement.

In his briefing, the secretary of the Privatisation Commission noted that several international airlines, including Turkish Air­lines and Singapore Airlines, had expressed interest in PIA’s privatisation.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

AFTER Pakistan floated the idea of ‘climate diplomacy’ to tackle cross-border pollution in light of smog which has engulfed vast tracts of India and Pakistan, a US official indicated on the sidelines of COP29 that the White House may throw its weight behind any initiative taken in this regard.

Last month, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed her government’s intention to approach India to jointly counter the air pollution, which mostly comes from vehicular and industrial emissions, and is exacerbated in winter due to stubble burning.

Talking to Dawn on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku, Ali Zaidi — national climate adviser to the Biden administration — said the US was “100 per cent supportive” of partnership-based approaches to tackle problems that cannot be solved in isolation.

“In the US, we have this thing called the ‘good neighbour rule’, which governs smog. It actually was developed when we witnessed exactly this phenomenon in the US. So you know when it comes to cross-border pollution and cross-border issues, we are 100pc suportive of partnership-based approaches to tackle problems that cannot be solved on their own,” he said in response to a question about smog, which has made life unbearable for millions in Pakistan.

The White House official said the US was already active in the Hindu Kush — often referred to as ‘The Third Pole’ for housing the most glaciers in the world outside the polar regions — to better coordinate the mitigation response, because environmental impacts from glaciers do not isolate themselves to one jurisdiction.

“I think the regional solutions are a necessary complement to this sort of multilateral dialogue,” he said, referring to the COP summit.

The adviser said regional cooperation among relevant parties to address climate change would have more impact than putting “another ornament on a 1,000-page document (COP)”.

In response to a question about the failure of the world to help Pakistan after the 2022 floods caused damages to the tune of $30 billion, he said the global community needed to reinvent its approach to rebuilding from disasters, particularly by investing in pre-disaster mitigation.

According to the White House official, the US took a really long time to reengineer its thinking domestically in terms of building resilience into the recovery.

He favoured approaches that ran “consistent with the financial position” of states that needed to do rebuilding, saying there was a need to mobilise more countries to move more capital to help with adaptation and mitigation in these vulnerable countries.

In response to a question about the loan-laden climate finance framework, he said, “If you are targeting projects that have very clear cash flow and a strong counterparty then debt works just fine.”

He agreed some concessionary capital did need to come in depending on the technological aspect, the richness of the resources and the maturity of the market, while referring to India’s solar projects.

Vulnerable areas need significant grant-based aid, but there is still a need to figure out how to monetise risk reduction associated with adaptation finance and that’s why it was difficult to do. These places are going to soak up more grant-based finance, he said.

Speaking about the Trump-led US administration all set to take over from the Biden administration, he appeared optimistic, saying the states in the US will figure out how to provide the policy support even if the federal government stopped being part of it. About the US, he said it should remain part of the dialogue and be the author of the roadmap that will govern the contours of climate finance for decades to come.

Produced as part of the 2024 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

PESHAWAR / QUETTA: An important ‘commander’ of a banned organisation was among 16 terrorists killed and six others injured in gun battles, retaliatory attacks and operations carried out in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was officially announced on Wednesday.

Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) on the reported presence of khwarij (the military’s terminology for the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan district between Nov 12 and 13, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The security forces effectively engaged the terrorist locations during the operation. Eight terrorists were killed and six others injured during the exchange of fire.

In the Kech area of Balochistan, four terrorists, including an important ‘commander’, were killed in a gun battle during an operation, the ISPR said.

Majeed Brigade man was responsible for choosing suicide bombers, says ISPR

In a statement, the military’s media wing said that on the night between Nov 12 and 13, security forces conducted IBOs in the general area Balgatar of Kech district on the reported presence of terrorists.

After an intense exchange of fire between the troops and the terrorists, a high-value target, terrorists’ ringleader Sana alias Baru was killed along with three other terrorists.

The ISPR said that Sana was the focal recruitment agent, especially for suicide bombers, for the so-called Majeed Brigade wing of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army in Kech district and was highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies.

Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the killed terrorists.

Sanitisation operations were being conducted in Miramshah and Kech to eliminate any other terrorists found in the areas, the ISPR said, adding that security forces were determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and thwart attempts to sabotage peace, stability and progress of Balochistan.

Earlier in the day, four terrorists were killed in two encounters conducted by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel in Malakand, officials said.

Arms and ammunitions were seized after the gun battles, they added.

In the first encounter, three terrorists were killed when the CTD personnel retaliated against attackers in the Sher Khana Palai area. The dead militants were identified as Rizwan alias Bodagay, Salman, and Abdur Rehman alias Shadmani.

Rizwan was wanted by the police and security forces for his involvement in various terrorism-related cases, and was also involved in the firing incident at the historic Churchill Packet, they said.

Deputy Inspector General CTD Hassan Raza told a press conference in Batkhela that his department had received information on Oct 23 that some terrorists had sneaked into the country from Afghanistan and they were planning to carry out subversive activities in different districts of Malakand Division, including Bajaur, Malakand and Swat.

He said that terrorists attacked a CTD team, which had placed barricades on a road at the Sher Khana Palai area to check their movement. In a retaliatory action, the CTD personnel killed three terrorists.

The CTD personnel recovered three Kalashnikovs, hand grenades, pistols and live rounds from the dead militants.

During the other encounter, security forces killed a terrorist, identified as Abdullah.

DIG Raza, flanked by SP Malakand Amjad Ali Khan, stated that the killed terrorists, who belonged to the Sher Khana Palai area, were wanted by the police and security forces for their involvement in several terrorism-related cases. He said a search operation continued in the area.

Gohar Ali Gohar in Malakand also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

LONDON: In a dramatic turn of events at the Old Bailey, Urfan Sharif confessed to the murder of his 10-year-old daughter, Sara Sharif, admitting in court that he “takes full responsibility” for her tragic death.

Sharif detailed the brutal treatment he inflicted upon the girl, acknowledging he beat her with a cricket bat and metal pole, leading to her death on Aug 8, 2023, days before her body was discovered in their Surrey home.

The confession came during cross-examination by Caroline Carberry KC, who asked him bluntly if he had killed her by beating. “Yes, she died because of me,” Sharif responded. He revealed that he had struck Sara “severely” over several weeks, reportedly because he was angered by her frequent episodes of soiling herself and vomiting.

Sharif, 42, his wife, Beinash Batool, 30 and his brother Faisal Malik, 29, all facing charges related to what prosecutors have described as a “campaign of abuse” against Sara. The trio fled to Pakistan shortly after Sara’s death, with Sharif later calling the British police to confess he had “beat her up too much”.

A handwritten note, found near Sara’s fully clothed body, further documented Sharif’s admission, stating: “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”

Medical examination reports presented to the court were harrowing. Sara’s postmortem revealed 71 external injuries, including fractures, burns, and bite marks.

When confronted with images of Sara’s injuries, Sharif appeared unable to look, repeatedly saying, “I accept everything,” as Carberry questioned him on the details of his alleged actions.

The prosecution presented a disturbing video clip from Aug 6, showing Sara dancing just two days before her death. Despite this glimpse of her lively spirit, Sharif admitted to brutally beating her that same evening.

The defence team for Sharif later sought a private consultation with him in court, delaying further proceedings.

The trial, however, continues, with Sharif and co-defendants maintaining not guilty pleas to the charges of murder and causing or allowing the child’s death.

Cross-examination

During the hearing, Carberry asked: “Do you accept that you had been beating Sara severely over a number of weeks?” He replied: “Yes, ma’am.”

He went on to accept attacking Sara with a cricket bat repeatedly and causing 25 fractures to her body.

Carberry continued: “I want to ask you about the occasions when you assaulted her with a cricket bat. What had she done to deserve such beatings in your mind?”

Sharif replied: “Nothing.”

She asked: “Why were you beating her so forcefully?”

He replied: “I was wrong.”

She continued: “Were you angry with her because in the summer of last year, she had started soiling herself?”

He replied: “Yes ma’am.”

She added: “And she had started vomiting, hadn’t she?” to which Sharif replied: “Yes, ma’am.”

Carberry asked: “And when she was sick you would get angry? And when she soiled herself you would get angry?” He replied: “Yes ma’am.”

He accepted causing injuries to Sara’s face and head by beating her with the bat and metal pole on 6 Aug.

Carberry continued: “You have pleaded not guilty to the offence of murder. Would you like that charge to be put to you again?”

He replied: “Yes ma’am.”

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

This week’s episode tidies up a lot of the season’s conflicts: Sean and his dad, Gaby and her sister, Alice and her guy-who-killed-my-mom.

The Garvey sisters are going to have a tough time finding out Grace’s secrets now.

Bananas takes his feud with Michele past the point of no return.

Donald Trump promised repeatedly to pardon hundreds of people caught up in the events of January 6, 2021. For those who marched peacefully through the Capitol, it's time for the nightmare to end.

Donald Trump has chosen Tulsi Gabbard to serve as his Director of National Intelligence, he announced.

President-elect Donald Trump startled much of Washington Wednesday by selecting Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, putting the Florida firebrand and MAGA loyalist in line to be the nation's chief law enforcement officer, a nomination that some Republicans doubt will survive.

Entire continents, even in the tropics, seem to have been under sheets of ice.

Legendary NBA head coach George Karl wrote his opinion about the state of the league on social media on Monday and used the general election as an example.

The Indianapolis Colts are heading in a new direction with the quarterback position again, naming Anthony Richardson the new QB1 just two weeks after he was benched.

Sia Li'ili'i, the captain of the Nevada Wolf Pack women's volleyball team, has joined the Independent Women's Forum as an ambassador as she continues to fight for women's sports.

WWE legend John Cena will compete in the 2025 Royal Rumble, he said on Wednesday. It is set to be the final year of his pro wrestling career.

The FBI announced its offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect responsible for West Coast ballot box fires.

ESPN NBA writer Brian Windhorst criticized the Los Angeles Lakers' plan for Bronny James, who won't be heading on the road with the G League South Bay Lakers.

A Manitoba priest accused of sexually assaulting a now-nine-year-old girl in Little Grand Rapids First Nation last year has had all charges against him stayed, a day after the girl at the centre of the case testified against him.

A superintendent with the Halton Catholic District School Board travelled to conferences around the world to attract international students, but the board won't say how many were directly recruited.

Some Scotiabank customers are still unable to access their online banking accounts after what the company called "scheduled maintenance" turned into a service outage that crept into Wednesday, sparking online anger and a proposed class action lawsuit.

Live bidding will be private, and the future owner of Jones' company will be public once court papers are filed. The proceeds will go to pay Sandy Hook families who won defamation cases against Jones.

The former Democratic congresswoman has shifted her political allegiance in recent years, going from a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 to a stalwart Trump supporter.

Diabetes: Don’t blame it on your genes  Ahmedabad MirrorView Full coverage on Google News

1. Garena Free Fire MAX redeem codes for November 14, 2024: Grab freebies in battle royale game daily  Moneycontrol
2. Garena Free Fire MAX redeem codes for November 12: Win free diamonds, skins, and more  The Times of India
3. Garena Free Fire MAX November 14 redeem codes: Grab Booyah Captain Bundle  HT Tech
4. Garena Free Fire MAX Redeem Codes for November 12: Claim Exclusive Rewards Today!  The Hans India
5. Garena Free Fire Redeem Codes For 14 November  Bizz Buzz

1. SC bans ‘bulldozer justice’, calls it unconstitutional, drafts norms  The Times of India
2. Poetry To UK Precedent: What Went Into Landmark 'Bulldozer Justice' Verdict  NDTV
3. Right To Shelter A Facet Of Article 21; State Must Satisfy Why Entire Property Needs To Be Demolished :...  Live Law - Indian Legal News
4. Supreme Court verdict on bulldozer demolitions: Jamiat hails verdict, victims seek compensation  The Hindu
5. SC lays down path, timeline that bulldozers must follow  The Times of India

1. Trump Tracker: Ex-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard Appointed US Intelligence Chief  NDTV
2. Who is Tulsi Gabbard? Meet the Hindu American appointed by Trump as US Director of National Intelligence  The Times of India
3. Who is Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s Hindu pick for director of national intelligence?  The Economic Times
4. When Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's new pick, slammed Pakistan Army over atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh  Hindustan Times
5. Trump taps former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard as US intel chief; Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State  The Hindu

A neighborhood watch group in a Christian Beirut neighborhood is on the lookout for militant operatives, which could make the area a target for Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli archeologists use models based on their find to spin flax into yarn, indicating these pebbles were used as a version of a spinning wheel.

The Amazon CEO reportedly told employees at an all-hands meeting that the company's five-day-a-week policy was aimed at improving company culture.

AMD has confirmed it’s laying off roughly four percent of its global workforce, according to reports by TechCrunch and others. It’s not entirely clear how many people will be impacted by this move, or which divisions the laid off employees will be pulled from.

We can, however, do some math. The company had around 26,000 employees last year, according to an annual filing by AMD. Four percent of 26,000 comes out to just over 1,000 people. That’s a lot.

So that leads us to why. You already know the answer. It’s a bunch of corporate gobbledygook. “As a part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a number of targeted steps,” an AMD spokesperson told CRN.

Don’t worry. The company also said it’s “committed to treating impacted employees with respect and helping them through this transition.” Engadget reached out to AMD for more information as to what that respect and help will look like. We’ll update this story if we find out anything.

This news comes after a fairly mixed Q3 earnings report. The company grew revenue and profit, but the gaming division saw a massive year-over-year decline of 69 percent, according to Wccftech. The company has also struggled to compete with NVIDIA in the world of AI chips.

Experts still predict that AMD will make nearly $33 billion in 2025, thanks to forthcoming next-gen GPUs. This isn’t enough for investors, however, as it’s “just” an increase of around $7 billion when compared to 2024. The company’s stock is down around four percent this year, and dropped further today. Capitalism demands massive and endless growth.

Rival (and occasional bestie) Intel has faced similar headwinds. The company announced over 15,000 layoffs earlier this year.

He should be prepared to stand up to an arrogant union that he’s previously supported, just as Reagan did.

Bariatric surgery is still the gold standard for morbid obesity treatment, yet patients and medical professionals will likely seek less invasive weight loss drugs before considering bariatric surgery. 

The post The Rapid Growth of GLP-1s and Their Impact on Bariatric Surgery appeared first on MedCity News.

Johnson & Johnson is suing the federal agencies overseeing the 340B program that makes discounted medicines more accessible to uninsured and underserved patients. J&J contends the Health Resources Services Administration can’t legally oppose its plan to implement a new rebate plan for certain 340B drugs.

The post Johnson & Johnson Takes the 340B Drug Rebate Fight to Federal Court appeared first on MedCity News.

The Union Ministry of Ayush (MoA) is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop an International Herbal Pharmacopoeia (IHP) to set global quality and efficacy standards for

Antimicrobial resistance could claim 39 million lives by 2050, yet the pipeline for new antibiotics is drying up. U.S. policy makers can help fix it

Permanent tent cities are another idea Trump has for dealing with people who are unhoused. Sequestering people with mental illness or substance abuse in one place has been tried, an expert says, and "it turns into hell on earth."

WASHINGTON — Tesla said on Wednesday (Nov 13) it was recalling 2,400 Cybertruck pickups in the US because a faulty part could lead to a loss of power and increase the risk of a crash, in its sixth callback of Cybertrucks this year. A fault in the driver inverter in Cybertrucks manufactured through July 30 could cause the vehicle to stop producing torque when the driver uses the accelerator pedal, resulting in a loss of propulsion and increasing the risk of a crash, Tesla said in a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Tesla will replace the recalled drive inverter with one equipped with a functioning component. The automaker said it was aware of five warranty claims tied to the issue but knew of no crashes or injuries. Beginning around Dec 9, Tesla will replace the recalled drive inverter with a new component. Tesla said it has been using the updated component in production since July 30. Last month, the EV maker said it was recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks due to delayed rear-view camera images that could impair driver visibility and increase crash risks.

PARIS — Israeli officials are insisting on maintaining a capacity to strike Lebanon at any moment as part of conditions to secure a ceasefire with Iran-backed Hezbollah, France's foreign minister said on Wednesday (Nov 13). Speaking to a parliamentary hearing after holding talks in Israel last week in Jerusalem, Jean-Noel Barrot said it was a condition increasingly voiced among Israeli officials. "Today we hear in Israel voices calling for it to keep a capacity to strike at any moment or even enter Lebanon, as is the case with its neighbour Syria," said Barrot, who held talks with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and new Defence Minister Israel Katz last week. "That is not compatible with the sovereignty of a strong country," Barrot said, referring to broader efforts to help strengthen Lebanon's governance. Several diplomats said that it would be all but impossible to get Hezbollah or Lebanon to accept any proposal that included this demand.

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