Ban makes no reference to Kashmir in final UNGA address

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today made no reference to Kashmir and the situation in the Valley in his last address despite Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's repeated calls to the world body to help resolve the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan. In his final address as the UN chief to the opening session of the General Debate here, Ban touched upon a plethora of global issues including the crisis in Syria, the Palestinian issue, the situation in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, the refugee and migrant movements. He also addressed tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East, the South Sudan tensions, violent extremism and its impact on regions from Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan to the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin. However, Ban did not make any mention of Kashmir or the tensions in the Valley, that have escalated in the recent months, even as Pakistan made repeated pleas to the UN to help resolve the dispute between India and Pakistan. Kashmir will be the focal point of Sharif's address to the General Assembly tomorrow. Tensions are particularly running high between India and Pakistan in the wake of the attack by heavily-armed militants from Pakistan-based JeM on an army base in Uri on Sunday that killed 18 jawans. Ban's office has repeatedly said that the UN chief's "good offices" are available to help resolve the Kashmir issue, only if both India and Pakistan request for it, a clear message that it is a bilateral issue and should be solved by the two countries. Last month, Sharif had written two letters to Ban asking him to intervene in the Kashmir issue. The letters were among the many that Islamabad had shot off to the UN, calling for the world body to take up the Kashmir issue. However, in his long and final address to the world leaders, Ban did not make one reference to Kashmir while highlighting the issues on the UN agenda. In his address, Ban referred to the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement on climate change, security threats by armed conflicts and its "tragic consequences" which are on brutal display from Yemen to Libya and Iraq, from Afghanistan to the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin. He also spoke about the conflict in Syria, which "is taking the greatest number of lives and sowing the widest instability". Ban also touched upon the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying "replacing a two-state solution with a one-state construct would spell doom: denying Palestinians their freedom and rightful future, and pushing Israel further from its vision of a Jewish democracy towards greater global isolation". "In Myanmar, the transition has entered a promising new phase. In Sri Lanka, post-war healing efforts have deepened. In both countries, true reconciliation rests on ensuring that all communities, minorities and majorities alike, are included in building a new union," he said. The second five-year term of Ban is expiring on December 31.

Army foils infiltration bids; 10 millitants, 1 soldier killed

Barely two days after the terror attack in Uri, two infiltration bids were made from across the border in Kashmir today but they were foiled by the Army. Ten terrorists were killed and one jawan was martyred in the encounters even as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire and fired at Indian positions. An army spokesman said in Srinagar, that encounters was still on when reports last came in. Official sources said, troops noticed a group of terrorists sneaking into Indian side from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. When challenged and asked to surrender, the ultras opened fire with automatic weapons and the troops also retaliated in response. Sources said, in the second encounter at Handwara in Kupwara district, security forces and state police launched a joint operation after receiving specific information about the presence of the ultras. However, when the security forces were moving towards particular area, terrorists opened fire with automatic weapons. A security jawan was injured during the act who later succumbed to his injuries.

Muslims most disliked group in US: study

Muslims are the most disapproved group in the US, according to a new study which also says that almost half of Americans surveyed would not want to have their children marry into this faith. A new study from sociologists at the University of Minnesota, which analysed Americans' perceptions of minority faith and racial groups, found that their disapproval of Muslims has almost doubled from about 26 per cent 10 years ago to 45.5 per cent in 2016. Amid increasing focus on national security and in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks around the world, the study found that almost half of those surveyed would not want their child to marry a Muslim, compared to just 33.5 per cent of people a decade earlier. "Religion becomes a signal and a marker, an easy shorthand for Americans' moral judgment," said Douglas Hartmann, an author of the study along with fellow sociologists Penny Edgell, Evan Stewart and Joseph Gerteis. "But that is not the only thing going on with Muslims. It's more complicated." The report found that anti-Muslim violence spiked after the 9/11 attacks, as did attacks on Sikh-Americans, who are often confused with Muslim Americans. "Even the generally tolerant millennials exhibit relatively strong anti-Muslim sentiments," the report said. Muslims have surpassed atheists to become the most disliked group in the US. Out of 2,500 respondents, 45.5 per cent said Muslims and 41.9 per cent said atheists. A decade ago, atheists were the most unpopular group, with 39.6 per cent of people disapproving of them and 26.3 per cent disapproving of Muslims, it said. The study was written from data collected between February 2014 and March 2016. It was published in the current issue of Social Forces journal.

68% Metro work completed in Hyderabad

Works on 68 per cent of the 72-km elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project has been completed, while two sections have got safety certification from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), HMR Managing Director NVS Reddy said today. Reddy made a detailed presentation to the Committee on Public Undertakings (CoPU), Telangana Legislature under the chairmanship of N Divakar Rao, which reviewed the performance of Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd and the project's progress. Explaining the challenges and hurdles faced, which include about 200 court cases, permissions, issues pertaining to sensitive structures etc, and how they were tackled, Reddy indicated that 68 per cent of project was completed, a statement issued by HMR said. Two sections namely Nagole Mettuguda (8 km) of corridor III and Miyapur SR Nagar (12 km) of corridor-I got safety certification from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), Reddy said. "Out of the total 72 kms, foundations in 59 kms, pillars in 56 kms and viaduct in 47 kms have been so far completed," he added. Lauding the progress in the project, quality of works, safety standards and advanced features of the Hyderabad Metro Rail system, committee members made various suggestions, regarding early completion of Phase-I, selection of routes for Phase-II extension, creation of parking etc. The committee also appreciated the fact that HMR has already won about 20 national and international awards during the construction stage itself. MLCs Karne Prabhakar, V Bhoopal Reddy, Poola Ravinder, MLA Chinta Prabhakar, Special Chief Secretary, (MA&UD) MG Gopal, Legislature Secretary Raja Sadaram and other senior officers of MA&UD Department and HMRL have participated in the meeting, a release said. The 72-kms elevated project, being developed by L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH), will have three corridors and 66 stations. It is world's largest public-private partnership project (PPP) in the sector. The project was initially scheduled to be completed by July 2017, but delays like changes in alignment, land acquisition and other issues have resulted in the project overshooting the deadline and all the three Metro Rail corridors, including the one passing through the old city, would be completed by December 2018, authorities had earlier said.

BJP has "selective amnesia" on Telangana's past: TRS

As BJP celebrated "Telangana Liberation Day" today, ruling TRS accused it of "selective amnesia" and said this political strategy to expand its presence would not work in the state. "BJP has the habit of raising communal issue whenever they feel that there is an opportune time. Even during the time of agitation (for separate statehood for Telangana), we had always said this is a merger day, not a liberation day," TRS Lok Sabha member Kalvakuntla Kavitha said. BJP has been demanding that the Telangana Government officially celebrate the occasion as "liberation day" as Hyderabad State was "liberated" through "police action" on September 17, 1948, more than a year after India got independence. BJP considers the Nizam's rule in the erstwhile Hyderabad State as "tyrannical", "oppressive" and "autocratic" and claims that Telugu language was discouraged as the medium of instruction in educational institutions during their period. Kavitha noted that when Goa merged into India, the Central government called it liberation, while the Telangana (erstwhile Hyderabad State) operation in 1948 was termed as "police action, and they never said liberation of Telangana". "So, that jargon (liberation) was never used. And if you look at national perspective, India itself is union of many, many princely states, now you want to go back and celebrate, what exactly you are trying to achieve?" Kavitha asked. "You only want to recall the 1948 incident, what about 1969 incidents of Telangana agitation, what about 1952, what about 2001 ?...many, many kids were killed. In 1969, 369 kids (students) were killed in police firing, BJP does not want to talk about it," Kavitha said. "BJP-TDP government was in power. No body wanted to talk about liberation day, why speak about it now? You can't have selective amnesia. When you speak about historical incidents, certainly BJP has a habit of selective amnesia, very comfortably, conveniently they pick and choose the facts. We only say it's a merger day. We always observed it as a merger day, we will continue to do so," she said. "Politically it won't work, because BJP has negligible presence in Telangana. Just to increase their political visibility in Telangana, they have started to rake up this issue. People do not have any sentiment towards this particular issue BJP is talking about, Congress does not talk about it, TDP does not talk about it (liberation)", Kavitha added.

Student found hanging in Hyderbad university hostel

A first-year student of MFA course at University of Hyderabad (UoH) here allegedly committed suicide today, police said. Praveen Kumar allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his hostel room, Joint Commissioner of Police (Cyberabad West) M Stephen Ravindra told PTI. "Reasons are not known...no suicide note was found," he said adding some students took him to hospital where he was declared brought dead. Police said Praveen hailed from Shadnagar town of Mahabubnagar district in Telangana and his parents have been informed about the incident. UoH Pro Vice-Chancellor Vipin Srivastava said Praveen had got admitted to Master of Fine Arts course around one and half months ago. "The police is gathering more information... body has been shifted to a hospital," he said. Further probe is on. Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula was found hanging in the hostel room of the Central university on January 17 resulting in hunger strikes, demonstrations and unrest there for months together. The 26-year-old was among the five research scholars who were suspended by Hyderabad Central University (HCU) in August last year and also one of the accused in the case of assault on an ABVP student leader. They were also kept out of the hostel. The suspension was revoked later. The alleged suicide had triggered a huge political storm with Opposition parties launching a massive attack on the Union Government over the issue amid allegations that the extreme action was a result of discrimination against Dalit students after Bandaru Dattatreya had written a letter to the then Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani seeking action against their "anti-national acts".

Four minors drown in water tank near Hyderabad

Four children including one girl drowned in a water tank on the city outskirts today, police said. "Four children including one girl, who went for bathing in a tank of Makhan village drowned at around noon. Three bodies have been traced and search is on locate another one," Kandukur Police Station Inspector K V Vijay Kumar said. The deceased are in the age group of 10-12 years, he said. Further probe is on.