New Delhi, Nov 14,2024: The Central Government has declared Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) along with all its factions, wings and front organisations of Meghalaya as an unlawful association with immediate effect for a period of five years.
The Ministry of Home Affairs through a Gazette Notification dated November 13 said, “The Central Government declares the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), along with all its factions, wings and front organisations as an unlawful association with immediate effect.”
“(The Government) In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to sub-section (3) of section 3 of the said Act, hereby directs that this notification shall, subject to any order that may be made under section 4 of the said Act, have immediate effect from the November, 16, 2024 for a period of five years,” the notification said.
The notification said that HNLC along with all its factions, wings and front organisations has been involved in activities which are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.
The notification further said that the Government is of the opinion that the HNLC has declared objective for secession of areas in Meghalaya, largely inhabited by Khasi and Jaintia tribes from India.
The Meghalaya Government had also recommended that HNLC be declared as an unlawful association under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), it said.
The Government is also of the opinion that the activities of HNLC are detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, and if these are not immediately curbed and controlled, the HNLC may regroup and rearm itself, expand its cadres, procure sophisticated weapons, cause loss of lives of civilians and security forces and properties and thereby accelerate its anti-national activities, the notification added.
Kolkata, Oct 1,2024: The CBI on Tuesday arrested former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee in relation to the alleged primary schools’ teachers recruitment irregularities across the state, official sources said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, also probing the alleged teachers recruitment irregularities, along with the Enforcement Directorate, “shone arrest” of Partha Chatterjee, who has been admitted to the jail hospital since Monday night, sources added.
The special CBI court in the city was also informed of the latest development of the arrest of the former education minister, along with Ayan Sil in the case as they were produced and the court has granted the application.
The ED on July 22, 2022 had arrested Chatterjee in the alleged teachers recruitment scam, along with her close associate Arpita Mukherjee on July 27 and seized nearly Rs 50 crore from Arpita’s two residences at Tollygunj and Belgharia.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court called for the Enforcement Directorate’s response to Partha Chatterjee’s bail plea relating to the cash-for-jobs scam, a separate report said.
The former education minister was arrested in 2022 for irregularities in SSC teacher recruitment.
Kinshasa, Sep 3,2024: At least 129 prisoners were killed and 59 others injured in an escape attempt at Makala Central Prison early Monday in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the DRC government announced early Tuesday.
The provisional death toll reached 129, including 24 by gunfire after a “warning,” and the others by “shoving or suffocation,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Security Jacquemain Shabani, specifying that at least 59 injured inmates were taken care of by the government, as well as some women who had been reportedly raped.
He said the administrative building, the registry, the infirmary, and food depots were set on fire during the accident.
Gunshots were heard for several hours at Makala Central Prison in the early hours of Monday, witnesses told Xinhua.
In July, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba decided that 1,284 inmates at the Makala Central Prison would be granted conditional release to ease overcrowding.
Kolhapur, Aug 30,2024: A structural consultant involved in installation of the now-collapsed statue of Chhatrapatii Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district was arrested early Friday morning from Kolhapur city’s Shivaji Peth area, police said.
Consultant Chetan Patil was arrested in a culpable homicide case registered against him and sculptor Jaydeep Apte, a resident of Thane, for the collapse on August 26, police said.
Soon after the incident, official had claimed the 35-foot metal statue, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last December, crashed due to strong coastal winds.
The incident caused embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government with the Opposition parties alleging corruption in the construction of the statue.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar later sought a public apology for the incident and assured to rebuild the statue.
On Friday, Pawar visited the Fort along with Member of Parliament Sunil Tatkare and took stock of the situation at the collapse site.
He dismissed allegations that the collapse was due to hasty installation and said the government has ordered a detail probe and guilty persons will be punished.
Bratislava, July 8,2024: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who survived an assassination attempt in mid-May, will take part in a working event on Monday together with the agriculture minister, the Slovak government said.
“On July 8 at 11:00, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Minister of Agriculture Richard Takac will visit the agricultural association Agro Voderady in the village of Slovenska Nova Ves, where, accompanied by representatives of the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber and local farmers, they will get acquainted with the progress of the harvest,” the press service of the government said in a statement on Sunday.
On Friday evening, the prime minister made his first public appearance since the assassination attempt in mid-May.
Fico, who took office in October, was left fighting for his life after a man shot him multiple times at close range as he greeted supporters following an off-site cabinet meeting in the town of Handlova on May 15. He underwent two abdominal surgeries.
Hathras (UP), July 3: With a few more injured succumbing to injuries, the death toll in the Hathras incident, in which several people were killed in stampede during satsang in Sikandra Rao area, has reached 121.
Minister Sandeep Singh, who has been camping in Hathras since Tuesday evening, said the deaths of 121 people have been confirmed, whereas 35 people have been injured. “I want to assure that whoever is found guilty during the inquiry will not be spared, and stern action will be taken by the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has reached Hathras, where he visited the hospital and is meeting the injured and their family members. Before visiting the hospital, he held a short meeting at the circuit house, where he took stock of the situation.
Besides, an FIR was lodged against the chief sewadaar, Devprakash Madhukar, organisers and other sewadaar under different sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) late on Tuesday night. It has been alleged that while the organisers took permission for an assembly of 80,000 people, a mob of more than 2.5 lakh devotees assembled on the spot.
The complainant has also accused the sewadaars of creating mismanagement by pushing the crowd back with sticks after the satsang was over and Suraj Pal alias Bhole Baba was leaving. It has been alleged that this led to the stampede, in which several people were crushed. The organisers have also been accused of concealing the evidence.
Minister Asim Arun, who was rushed to Harthras by the CM on Tuesday evening, said an inquiry committee headed by ADG Zone Agra has been constituted. “Besides, an FIR has been lodged, and a criminal investigation has started,” he said.
It may be noted that the tragedy took place during satsang by Bhole Baba in Pulrai village under Sikandra Rao police station in Hathras on Tuesday.
Expressing his condolences to the bereaved families, Yogi announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
He has directed Ministers Aseem Arun, Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, and Sandeep Singh, along with the Chief Secretary and the Director General of the Police (DGP), to rush to the spot.
He also directed the district administration officials to immediately reach the spot, take the injured to the hospital, and provide them with proper treatment. He has also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Meanwhile, a team of Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Agra and Divisional Commissioner Aligarh has been constituted to inquire into the cause of the stampede. The committee has been directed to submit its report within 24 hours.
Nairobi, June 29,2024: At least 30 people died during the ongoing violent protests across Kenya against a controversial tax hike bill, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday, adding that police shooting into fleeing protesters was unacceptable under the African country’s and international law.
On Friday, The Star newspaper reported that over 58 police officers were injured and nine police vehicles were damaged during the demonstrations. The Citizen Digital media outlet reported that 23 people died and over 300 were injured in the recent protests all over the country.
The police allegedly opened fire on protesters in Nairobi during a parliament meeting on June 25, the rights group said, citing witnesses.
“Shooting directly into crowds without justification, including as protesters try to flee, is completely unacceptable under Kenyan and international law… The Kenyan authorities need to make clear to their forces that they should be protecting peaceful protesters and that impunity for police violence can no longer be tolerated,” Otsieno Namwaya, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch, was quoted as saying.
Protests have continued across Kenya since last week, when authorities unveiled a bill imposing a 16% VAT on bread, sugar transportation, mobile and financial services, and foreign currency transactions, as well as a 2.5% excise on cars and vegetable oil. As protests ignited, President William Ruto refused to sign the bill and sent it back to parliament for reconsideration.
April 25,2024: Burkina Faso’s military forces “summarily executed” 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in two villages in February, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a new report.
The mass killings took place on February 25 in the northern villages of Nondin and Soro, according to the report published on Thursday.
The international rights group said the massacre appeared to be part of a widespread military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with armed groups.
Soldiers killed at least 44 people, including 20 children, in Nondin, and 179 people, including 36 children, in nearby Soro.
HRW said it interviewed dozens of witnesses between February and March and analysed videos and photographs shared by survivors. It also reportedly obtained lists of the victims’ names compiled by survivors, and geolocated eight mass graves based on satellite imagery from March 15.
On February 24 and 25, armed groups carried out attacks across the country on military targets, including barracks and bases, and on civilian infrastructure, such as religious sites, killing scores of civilians, soldiers and militia members.
While Defence Minister Mahamoudou Sana denounced what he described as “simultaneous and coordinated” attacks, he did not mention the mass killings of civilians in Nondin and Soro.
Civilians have been caught in the middle of and displaced by the fighting between armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), and security forces.
About half of the country is outside government control. The violence has killed almost 20,000 people and displaced more than two million.
The West African country is run by a military government led by captain Ibrahim Traore who seized power in a coup in September 2022, eight months after an earlier military coup had overthrown the democratically elected President Roch Marc Kabore.