INTERNATIONAL – Page 19 – OVERSEAS TRIBUNE

Australian leader wears burqa to Senate to push for ban, draws criticism from lawmakers

August 17, 2017August 17, 2017 News Desk

Australian senator and leader of the right-wing One Nation party, Pauline Hanson, wore the burqa to the Senate chamber for the daily questioning time session on Thursday, The Guardian reported. According to the daily, Hanson’s move — meant to push for a ban on the burqa — caused commotion in the chamber and drew strong criticism from Australian attorney general George Brandis who issued a warning that the action may be offensive to the “religious sensibilities of other Australians”. “Senator Hanson, I’m not going to pretend to ignore the stunt that you…

US blacklists Hizbul Mujahideen as terrorist group

August 17, 2017 News Desk

The United States added the Kashmiri separatist group Hizbul Mujahideen to its blacklist of terrorist organisations on Wednesday, amidst renewed protests against Indian oppression in the region. US authorities had already designated the group’s leader, Syed Salahuddin, a “global terrorist”, but he is still able to operate in Kashmir, where his group has strong support. The State Department designation bans US citizens and residents from dealing with the group and any assets found to belong to the Hizbul Mujahideen in areas under US jurisdiction will be frozen. “Today’s action notifies…

American tourist beaten up in Germany for giving Nazi salute

August 14, 2017 News Desk

A drunken American tourist was beaten up in Dresden, Germany, after he repeatedly raised his arm to give the Nazi salute, according to the police, reported The Guardian. The 41-year-old American man was “lightly injured” in the attack, and was being investigated for violating the law against the use of symbols from banned organisations, the police said in a statement. “He didn’t say anything – just the salute. So far we have no explanation why,” deputy police chief said. “Someone hit him, and he had minor injuries to the head.” The incident…

India’s military steps up operational readiness on China border

August 12, 2017 News Desk

NEW DELHI: India’s military has increased operational readiness along the eastern Indian border with China, sources said, as neither side shows any sign of backing off from a face-off in a remote Himalayan region near their disputed frontier. Indian and Chinese troops have been embroiled in the seven-week confrontation on the Doklam plateau, claimed by both China and India’s tiny ally, Bhutan. The sources, who were briefed on the deployment, said they did not expect the tensions, involving about 300 soldiers on each side standing a few hundred feet apart, to…

Norwegian Minister to avoid Islamphobia, Says GS Islamic Council Norway

August 10, 2017August 28, 2017 News Desk

Oslo, News Desk General Secretary of Islamic Council Norway (IRN), Mehtab Afsar Khan has asked Minister for Immigration and Integration Sylvi Listhaug to avoid spreading Islamphobia trends. He was talking in a debate appeared on Norwegian Media on hate speech issue. About a proposal raised by the minister, GS IRN feared that the proposal could give more wind to the spread Islamophobic attitudes. “Many Norwegian values are based on universal values that most people respect. We are all working against those who spread hatred. The proposal of minister may restrict some basic rights. He suggested Ms…

A clash avoided with Tahir ul Qadri as a Norwegian Minister terms “Wolves in sheep’s cloths”

August 6, 2017August 6, 2017 News Desk

Oslo, News Desk, Aug 06, 2017, Norwegian Minister for Immigration and Integration Ms Sylvi Listhaug who is from Progress Party (FrP) accused some so-called pro-western Islamic scholars as wolves in sheep’s cloths. She was addressing as a guest speaker at a conference organized by Minhaj ul Quran International in city of Sarpsborg in Norway. A large number of Muslim youth from all over Europe gathered for education against extremism in conference Sarpsborg. Without mentioning names of the people, she said, “We are completely aware of the fact that there are…

Norwegian Minister for legal action against refugees visiting homeland

August 5, 2017August 5, 2017 News Desk

Oslo, News Desk, Aug 5, 2017 Minister of Immigration and Integration Sylvi Listhaug (Frp) asked people to “follow” and report to the authorities if they know or suspect that refugees they know are traveling to their home country. Norway’s Prime Minister Solberg (H) compares it with thief fishing. “People have come to me in the election campaign and told about neighbors and others in the community who have been on holiday in the country they fled from. And it seems many people are very strange as these when they came…

Amir Khan ‘tweets wife in shock divorce row and accuses her of cheating on him with Anthony Joshua’

August 4, 2017August 4, 2017 News Desk

Shock tweets from Amir Khan’s official account claim he has split from his wife as she ‘has cheated on him with heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’. It’s not known whether the Olympic champion was hacked or not, but messages from his account read: “So me and the wife Faryal [Makhdoomh] have agreed to split. I’m currently in Dubai. Wish her all the best.” He followed it up with a screenshot of a Snapchat conversation, which he claimed was between Faryal and Anthony. “Faryal moved on quick. Always mentioned to me how…

Heat in South Asia could reach ‘unsurvivable’ levels by 2100

August 4, 2017 News Desk

The study in the journal Science Advances warned of “summer heatwaves with levels of heat and humidity that exceed what humans can survive without protection”. The research is based on two climate models. One is a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario in which little is done to contain climate change, and the second is aimed at limiting temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius, as pledged by more than 190 nations under the 2015 Paris climate accord. The study is the first of its kind to look not just at temperatures, but…

Panama papers firm shrinks internationally

August 4, 2017 News Desk

PANAMA CITY: Mossack Fonseca, the law firm linked to the Panama Papers scandal, has had to close most of its international offices due to a slump in business, company officials said on Wednesday. “We had about 45 offices abroad. Now there are about six left,” Jürgen Mossack, one of its founders told a briefing while insisting the Panama headquarters was not expecting to close. A trove of 11.5 million digital records from the Panamanian law firm revealed how many of the world’s wealthy used offshore companies to stash assets. Perpetrators ranged…

Al Qaeda frees South African hostage after six years

August 3, 2017 News Desk

A South African man abducted from his hotel and held hostage by Al Qaeda in Mali since 2011 has been freed unscathed, his country’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. Stephen McGown, 42, was kidnapped from the historic trading city of Timbuktu in Mali’s north along with Swede Johan Gustafsson and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke, both of whom were subsequently released. McGown has returned to South Africa and been reunited with his family, foreign ministry official Clayson Monyela told AFP. “It was a big surprise when he walked through the door. When I…

Trump grudgingly signs Russia sanctions

August 3, 2017 News Desk

United States President Donald Trump reluctantly signed off on new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, bowing to domestic pressure and putting efforts to improve ties with the Kremlin in peril. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the sanctions amounted to “full-fledged economic war on Russia” and demonstrates Trump’s “total weakness… in the most humiliating way.” “It ends hopes for improving our relations with the new US administration,” Medvedev boldly declared on his Facebook page. Trump signed the legislation behind closed doors, after failed White House efforts to scupper or…

World Bank allows India to construct controversial dams on Pakistani waters

August 3, 2017 News Desk

The World Bank has allowed India to move ahead with two hydroelectric power facilities on tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers, a decision taken at the conclusion of secretary-level talks between Pakistan and India on Indus Water Treaty. World Bank, which brokered the 1960 water treaty between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, said New Delhi is allowed to construct Kishanganga and Ratle dams with certain restrictions under the treaty. “The decision was taken in light of the reservations put forth by the Pakistani delegation,” the world lender said in a…

Are acid attacks becoming a commonality in the UK because they are treated as a minor offence?

August 3, 2017August 3, 2017 News Desk

Picture the following domestic scene: A woman hovering over a tawwa (stove), folding dough balls whilst the gas flame flickers gently under the cast iron. Behind her, a shadowy figure, wanting no blame and careful to hide their presence, opens up the cylindrical lever on the gas supply. Barely an instant passes before the light hits her eyes; eyes which will never be able to see themselves in a reflection in quite the same way. This was the old way, my mother tells me. This punishment for women, for what was perceived…

Thousands in Afghanistan protest mosque attack

August 3, 2017 News Desk

Thousands of protesters chanted slogans against the militant Islamic State group Wednesday as they carried the coffins of victims of an attack targeting a Shia mosque that killed 33 people in the western Afghan city of Herat. Afghan mourners offer funeral prayers near the coffins of victims following the attack. ─ AFP Up to 5,000 angry mourners, including relatives of the dead, congregated near the site of Tuesday’s suicide bomb attack as IS claimed responsibility for the latest atrocity targeting the minority community. “Death to Daesh (IS)!” and “Down with…