New Delhi, Dec 28,2023: The death sentence of eight former Indian Navy officials have been reduced by the Court of Appeal of Qatar in connection with an alleged case of espionage, Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
“We have noted the verdict of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case on Thursday, in which the sentences have been reduced” MEA said in an official statement.
On October 26, 2023, Qatar court has sentenced eight former Indian Navy officials to death after detaining them for more than a year earlier.
The development comes weeks after Qatar’s Court of First Instance accepted the appeal filed by the Indian government against the death sentence awarded to the Navy veterans.
“The detailed judgement is awaited. We are in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps” the Ministry said.
The Ministry said, “Our Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal today, along with the family members. We have stood by them since the beginning of the matter and we will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities”.
“Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture” it added.
The Indian Nationals were arrested by the Qatari intelligence agency in August 2022, on alleged charges of spying on submarine program on behalf of Israel.
The eight men, were working for Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provided training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces and security agencies.
Dec 25,2023: An Israeli air strike outside the Syrian capital of Damascus has killed a senior adviser in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to reports from Iranian state media.
Sayyed Razi Mousavi, one of the top IRGC commanders in Syria, was killed on Monday.
He was responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Syria and Iran, an important part of Iran’s regional network of allies and proxies known as the “Axis of Resistance”.
Mousavi “was killed during an attack by the Zionist regime a few hours ago in Zeinabiyah district in the suburbs of Damascus,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported, using a different name for Sayyida Zeinab south of the Syrian capital.
In a statement read on state TV, the IRGC said that the “usurper and savage Zionist regime will pay for this crime”.
Iran’s state television interrupted its regular news broadcast to announce that Mousavi had been killed, describing him as one of the most experienced IRGC advisers in Syria.
The strike comes amid fears that Israel’s war with the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza could expand into a wider regional conflict, pulling in Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Yangjiang, Guangdong, Dec 26,2023: China on Tuesday successfully launched a Long March-11 carrier rocket into space, sending three satellites into planned orbit.
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center launched the rocket from waters off the coast of Yangjiang, south China’s Guangdong Province, at 6:39 a.m. (Beijing Time).
The satellites, Shiyan-24C, will be mainly used for space science and technology experiments.
It was the 503rd mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
Dec 23,2023: The United States has accused Iran of being “deeply involved” in attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Tehran’s support for the Yemeni rebel group includes both weapons and tactical intelligence, the White House said on Friday as it presented newly declassified intelligence purporting to show Iranian involvement in the attacks.
Tehran’s support for the Yemeni rebel group includes both weapons and tactical intelligence, the White House said on Friday as it presented newly declassified intelligence purporting to show Iranian involvement in the attacks.
“We know that Iran was deeply involved in planning the operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea,” White House national security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
“This is consistent with Iran’s long-term material support and encouragement of the Houthis’ destabilising actions in the region.”
“This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” Watson said.
The White House said that visual analysis showed nearly identical features between Iran’s KAS-04 drones and the unmanned vehicles used by the Houthis, as well as consistent features between Iranian and Houthi missiles.
The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in what the group has described as a show of support for Palestinians facing Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
The attacks have effectively rerouted a large portion of global trade by forcing freight companies to sail around Africa, imposing higher costs and delays to deliveries of energy, food and consumer goods.
More than a dozen shipping companies, including the Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company, France’s CMA CGM and Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, have suspended transit through the Red Sea due to the attacks.
Last week, a US guided-missile destroyer shot down 14 attack drones believed to have been fired from Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen.
The Houthi leadership has warned that they will strike back at “American battleships” and “American interests” if they are attacked.
Tehran has said it supports the Houthis politically but denies sending the group weapons.
Central Gaza Strip,Dec 23,2023: Israel has ordered Palestinians to evacuate from parts of central Gaza, its latest such directive as it pushes more of the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million-strong population into a smaller area while widening its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military on Friday ordered families to flee for their “safety” to shelters in southern Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, from Bureij and areas of Nuseirat in central Gaza.
The announcement has incensed the region’s weary and exhausted residents, many of whom have already been internally displaced several times since October 7.
Scenes of mass displacement once again filled Salah al-Din Street that is linked to the entrance of the Bureij refugee camp.
Salah al-Din, a road stretching across the length of Gaza, has been dubbed the “death corridor” by many in the Strip. In previous evacuations, Palestinians fleeing parts of northern Gaza have been arrested, shot at and even killed – despite it being declared as a safe route by the Israeli army.
On Friday, hundreds of people carrying what is left of their personal belongings poured onto the street on foot. Others loaded pick-up trucks and donkey carts with mattresses, blankets, plastic chairs and whatever else they could grab.
MOSCOW, Dec 21,2023: Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova put her name forward on Wednesday to stand in a Russian presidential election in March that Vladimir Putin is expected to win by a landslide.
Duntsova, 40, called in an interview with Reuters last month for an end to the conflict in Ukraine and the release of political prisoners including opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
She submitted documents to officials at the Central Electoral Commission to formally enter the election in which Putin’s victory is widely seen as a foregone conclusion by supporters and opponents alike.
She now faces a major hurdle to obtain 300,000 signatures in support of her candidacy, from all across Russia, by Jan. 31.
But Duntsova corrected a reporter who asked her if she thought the authorities would actually allow her to stand.
“Why are we talking about permission if this is my right according to the law and I have that possibility and have the necessary qualities to put myself forward?” she replied.
“We are just moving according to the formula prescribed by federal law, and for that we don’t need anyone’s permission.”
Putin, 71, has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999 and is seeking another six-year term. With Navalny serving prison sentences totalling more than 30 years and other leading Kremlin critics either behind bars or outside the country because of the risk of arrest, there is no established opposition figure to challenge him.
Navalny’s supporters call the process a sham, saying the Kremlin, via the electoral commission, controls who can run and can easily manipulate the vote if needed with the help of an opaque electronic voting system. The Kremlin says Putin will win because he enjoys overwhelming public support, with opinion poll ratings of around 80%.
Putin announced earlier this month that he would run, but no other candidate has formally applied so far. Those backed by a political party only need 100,000 signatures.
In her interview with Reuters, Duntsova avoided using the word “war” to describe the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which Putin calls a “special military operation”, and acknowledged she was afraid.
“Any sane person taking this step would be afraid – but fear must not win,” she said.
ROME, Dec 21,2023: Italy’s lower house of parliament voted on Thursday against a long-awaited reform of the euro zone bailout fund, throwing into doubt ratification of an EU treaty that is designed to provide help for failing banks.
The vote confirmed the deep hostility within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition to the overhaul of the so-called European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which has been approved by all other eurozone countries bar Italy.
“For six months here, there will be no talk about ESM,” Ylenia Lucaselli, from Meloni’s nationalist Brothers of Italy party, told reporters.
Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio Leo said parliament was sovereign and the government had to recognise its decision.
Meloni and Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti were not in the chamber on Thursday for the debate and subsequent vote, which saw approval for the ESM defeated by 184 votes against to 72 in favour, with 44 abstentions.
Brothers of Italy party and Giorgetti’s League both voted against, whilst the other main coalition group, Forza Italia, abstained. The opposition 5-Star Movement, headed by former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, also opposed the motion.
The ESM can offer a lifeline to euro zone governments cut off from markets, or recapitalise banks and provide precautionary credit. However, many Italian parties fear the pact could trigger a restructuring of Italy’s huge public debt.
The original ESM remains operational, but it cannot support the Single Resolution Fund, responsible for dealing with ailing banks, without Rome signing up to the deal.
Earlier on Thursday the ruling coalition in the budget committee also voted against ratification, complaining that the treaty did not guarantee the involvement of parliament in any eventual request for help.
Meloni has repeatedly criticised the ESM for requiring countries to implement austerity or financial reform programmes in return for its help, saying this would increase the risk of a debt restructuring.
The ESM vote came the day after EU member-states clinched a deal on more lenient fiscal rules. Meloni said the newlook Stability and Growth Pact was better than the old one although she was disappointed it had not excluded strategic investments from countries’ deficit and debt calculations.
The Italian government indicated earlier this month that it would not approve the ESM treaty unless there was first an agreement on the stability pact.
Gaza, Dec 21,2023: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops had secured control over Palestinian movement Hamas’ “Elite Quarter” in the center of Gaza City, including the area from where Hamas’ administrative and military leadership operated.
“IDF troops have secured control over Hamas’ “Elite Quarter” in the center of Gaza City, including the area of the ‘Palestine Square’, from where Hamas’ administrative and military leadership operated. The complex includes a large network of tunnels that connects terrorist hideouts, bureaus, and residential apartments belonging to Hamas’ senior leadership. This complex, both above and below ground, was a center of power for Hamas’ military and political wings,” the IDF said on Telegram.
It said that during battles to secure the area, IDF forces eliminated “approximately 600 terrorists” in ground and aerial operations.
On October 7, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip across the border, killing over 1,200 people and abducting some 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 20,000 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of the conflict, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1.
Colorado,Monday 20,2023: Colorado’s Supreme Court has ruled former United States President Donald Trump is ineligible to run for the White House because of his role in the 2021 assault on the Capitol by his supporters and should be removed from the state’s primary ballot.
While the ruling only applies to Colorado, it marks the first time in US history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars from public office anyone who “engaged in insurrection”, has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate and comes as courts in other states consider similar legal actions.
“A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the Colorado high court wrote in its four-three majority decision.
“Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” they added.
The decision – which Trump’s campaign said it would appeal – drew immediate condemnation from Republicans.
The one-time property tycoon and reality TV star faces a raft of court cases, from criminal charges over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, to mishandling classified documents, hush money payments in the 2016 election and fraud in his business practices.
Trump has claimed he is the victim of political persecution.
“We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us,” the Colorado justices said. “We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
A lower court earlier found that while Trump incited an insurrection, for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the 14th Amendment was intended to cover the presidency.
Jishishan, Gansu Province, Dec 20,2023: The number of injured people from the 6.2-magnitude earthquake in northwest China’s Gansu Province has risen to 782 in Gansu, with the death toll standing at 113 as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, according to a press conference on Wednesday morning.
The earthquake has taken the lives of 18 people in Qinghai Province, local authorities said on Wednesday morning.
As of 5:30 a.m., there have been 198 reported injuries in Qinghai due to the disaster, with 16 others still missing.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake jolted at 11:59 p.m. Monday and has a focal depth of 10 km. The epicenter Liugou Township is about 8 km from the county seat of the Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan in Gansu Province.
Dec 18,2023: Chile has voted to reject a new conservative constitution, leaving the text drafted during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in force.
With nearly all of the ballots tallied on Sunday night, more than 55 percent of Chileans voted against the text, compared with about 44 percent in favour.
The proposed constitution, which was drafted by a committee dominated by the conservative Republican Party, would have reinforced property rights and free-market principles and included limits on immigration and abortion.
The result comes more than a year after Chileans roundly rejected a progressive constitution that would have classified the Latin American country as a plurinational state, established autonomous Indigenous territories and elevated the environment as well as gender equity.
Chile’s leftist President Gabriel Boric, who before the vote pledged to focus on long-term development in favour of further attempts to change the constitution, said the results showed that the country had become polarised and divided.
“I invite you to build together a new era for Chile: growth for all, social justice and citizen security,” Boric, who became Chile’s youngest-ever leader in 2021 at 35, said after the vote. “The country needs everyone.”
Republican Party leader Jose Antonio Kast expressed disappointment over the result.
“We failed in the effort to convince Chileans that this would be a better constitution than the existing one,” he said.
The push to replace the current constitution, adopted during Pinochet’s military dictatorship, was set in motion after as many as 1 million protesters took to the streets in 2019 demanding sweeping political and social change.
While Chile is one of the richest and most stable countries in Latin America, it has some of the highest levels of wealth inequality in the developed world.
In a 2020 referendum, 80 percent of Chileans voted to replace the Pinochet-era constitution, which was widely blamed for allowing companies and the elite to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor, working classes.
But the public’s enthusiasm for change waned in the years following the protests as issues such as crime, the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation took centre stage.
Opinion polls in the weeks leading up to the latest vote had predicted defeat.
“This whole process has been a waste of government money … it’s a joke,” government employee Johanna Anríquez, who voted against the new constitution, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
“Let’s keep the one we have and, please, let’s get on with the work of providing public safety.”
Mexico City, Dec 18,2023: At least 12 people were shot dead early Sunday during a Christmas party in the municipality of Salvatierra of Guanajuato state, Mexico, authorities said.
The bloodshed occurred during a Christmas posada, traditional Mexican celebration, in the community of San Jose del Carmen, the Guanajuato Attorney General’s Office said, adding that investigation is under way.
According to initial reports from the municipal government, a group of armed attackers arrived unexpectedly and opened fire at posada participants, the majority of them young people, leaving 12 dead and 10 injured.
The wounded were taken to hospitals in the municipality, authorities said, without providing details about their conditions.
In recent years, violence has increased in the region due to the dispute between criminal groups seeking control.
Dec 16,2023: More than 40 Sudanese mothers from the embattled Masalit tribe detailed how their children, mostly boys, were shot, beaten or knifed to death by fighters in the Arab-dominated RSF paramilitary and allied militias. The tribe’s leader alleges this years’ attacks are part of a campaign to exterminate his people.
Arab militiamen had shot, stabbed and burned to death members of their tribe, the darker-skinned Masalit people.
Thousands have died in the attacks. The dead include women and girls. Masalit women also have described enduring sexual assault at the hands of the Arab-dominated RSF and its allies, as Reuters detailed last month.
But in the killing sprees, witnesses say, Arab forces have specifically targeted males for death, from infants to adults.
Thirty-six of the mothers told Reuters their children were shot from close range, 33 of them boys and eight girls. Six of the mothers said they watched as their children, some as young as six months old, were beaten to death by RSF and Arab militia fighters. Five of the six children killed this way were boys.
The killers used knives, too: Ten people who escaped to Chad told Reuters they saw children having their throats slit. All were boys.
Most of these children were killed as they fled with their mothers from El Geneina. En route to Chad, five survivors described seeing militiamen stop women with babies, check the child’s sex, and kill it if it turned out to be a boy.
Masalit men were also hunted down by the RSF and its allies. In the most recent round of violence in El Geneina in early November, Reuters revealed that hundreds of young Masalit men were rounded up and taken to various locations in the city where eyewitnesses said some of them were executed.
More than 30 women interviewed for this report said their husbands, brothers or fathers were killed or went missing in this year’s attacks. Several women said they hid their brothers or smuggled them out of El Geneina for fear they would be targeted. Dozens of men recounted how they cut through valleys and traveled along remote routes to Chad to evade checkpoints set up by the RSF and Arab militias.
Five survivors told Reuters they saw militiamen stop women with babies, check the child’s sex, and kill it if it turned out to be a boy.
Reuters was unable to independently corroborate the details of some accounts. In some cases, friends and neighbors confirmed elements of the survivors’ stories. Common patterns also emerged from the descriptions of the violence given by survivors. For some people, Reuters was able to review registration cards issued for refugees by the United Nations.
U.N. workers in Chad have so far collected demographic data on more than a quarter of the 484,000 refugees who have fled Sudan this year and now reside in camps along the border. Based on this data, the U.N. estimates nearly twice as many adult females as males have crossed the border. Despite the targeting of males, the gap is less pronounced among children, where there is almost parity between the number of boys and girls.
Several mothers of slain children, as well as other witnesses, said the militiamen made clear why they were targeting Masalit boys: They wanted to be sure the children wouldn’t grow up to be fighters and one day seek revenge for the attacks on the Masalit.
A Trail of Blood and Fear
The escape route taken by hundreds of thousands of Masalit in fleeing Sudan. Arab forces specifically hunted down and killed male infants, boys and adults along the way, dozens of survivors told Reuters.
Ana Scattone, an emergency protection officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Chadian border town of Adre, said the targeting of males also has a more far-reaching goal. “The objective of the killings seems to be the elimination of future fighters as well as the line of ancestry of a specific ethnic group,” Scattone said.