WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017 INTERNATIONAL Hardline Hindu youth call the News in brief shots on streets of north Australia toughens foreign worker visas SYDNEY: Australia will abolish a temporary work visa popu- Muslim men ‘singled out for courting’ Hindu women lar with foreigners and replace it with a new program requiring better English-language and job skills, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday. Turnbull, strug- UNNAO: One recent afternoon, dozens of roots and putting pressure on police. The ered a resounding victory to the ruling hopes will drag India into the modern era and gling with poor voter approval ratings, rejected suggestions young Hindu men, swords drawn and saffron appointment of the 44-year-old, known for his Bharatiya (BJP). create enough jobs for a swelling workforce. the visa policy change was in response to far-right wing scarves draped around their necks, rode fiery anti-Muslim rhetoric and a campaign In return for his successful campaign, the Adityanath represented the BJP during the political parties, such as One Nation, demanding more motorcycles through a Muslim neighborhood against “Love Jihad” - or the conversion of Hindu party handed the priest one of India’s most Uttar Pradesh state polls earlier this year, and nationalistic policies. But in a Facebook announcement near the capital of India’s most populous state women to Islam - has shocked some Indians, powerful positions, emboldening his militia to helped Modi consolidate power as he bids for Turnbull said: “Our reforms will have a simple focus: and chanted “Hail Lord Ram!” In the preceding who say it undermines the country’s secular sta- act and speak more openly than it did under re-election in a national ballot in 2019. The Australian jobs and Australian values.” In a similar vein, US weeks they and their peers had acted as tus. They worry that Prime Minister Narendra the previous administration. Based in Uttar priest, however, has often defied BJP discipline President Donald Trump will sign an executive order yester- informers, police officials say, helping them Modi’s “development for all” agenda will be Pradesh and funded by members who want to and is not part of the RSS machine, raising fears day directing changes to a temporary visa program used to identify thousands of Muslim-run butchers’ overtaken by radical, Hindu-first policies with win favour with local power brokers, the youth that Modi may have unleashed radical bring foreign workers to the United States to fill highly “”, or religious-nationalist forces that skilled jobs. The order is an attempt by Trump to carry out he will struggle to contain. “The BJP has no his “America First” election campaign pledges. command over this organization. They respond to Adityanath and no one else,” said Gilles Verniers, assistant professor of political sciences Spain’s PM called as at Ashoka University. witness in fund trial A close aide to Modi said it was Adityanath’s job to maintain law and order in the state. “The MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has been onus lies on him. It is his duty to take care of his called to stand as a witness in a trial of members of his rul- vigilante group,” said the aide. Daljit Singh ing People’s Party (PP) following a long investigation into Chawdhary, additional director general of an alleged party slush fund, a court spokeswoman said police for Uttar Pradesh, dismissed the threat of yesterday. The appearance, on a date yet to be decided, the youth force acting outside the law. “We are will be embarrassing for Rajoy, who has sought to dis- not tolerating any vigilante group taking the tance himself from a string of corruption scandals sur- law into their (own) hands, while at the same rounding his party. Rajoy heads a minority government, time anyone is free to provide us with tip-offs,” having lost support to newcomer parties in a general elec- he said. “We have had no recent complaints tion last year where Spaniards’ weariness with perceived against the Hindu Yuva Vahini, so there is no institutional corruption played a major role. The long-run- reason for us to take action against them.” ning investigation into kickbacks-for-contracts, known as the Gurtel case, went to trial in October after a probe last- Devotion and power ing nearly a decade, with dozens of suspects including The original source of Adityanath’s power business people and PP members in the dock. The PP is an ancient temple in Gorakhpur, eastern denies any senior party officials were involved in any cases Uttar Pradesh, where people treat the shaven- of alleged corruption. It says only a tiny number of its headed priest with reverence. Soon after he politicians are corrupt and that it is tackling the problem. was named chief minister last month, a devo- tee collected dust from the rug on which Adityanath had walked, so as to worship it. Built on such devotion, the youth force has evolved into a powerful group that dispenses justice and has proved itself a formidable vote-getter. The BJP’s national spokesman, Nalin Kohli, said the party’s victory in Uttar Pradesh was not only thanks to Adityanath and his private mili- TRIPURA, India: An Indian Hindu devotee runs over smouldering charcoal during the ritual of Shiva Gajan in the vil- tia. But Singh expressed little doubt about the lage of Pratapgarh on the outskirts of Agartala. Devotees believe that by enduring the pain, Shiva, the Hindu god group’s importance in securing the result. of destruction, will grant their prayers. —AFP “Modi won Uttar Pradesh because of Adityanath’s ground force,” Singh said. One of shops that have since been shut and urging the potential to stoke communal tensions that force says it is 2 million strong and growing. In Adityanath’s first directives after becoming officers to stop Muslim youths talking to Hindu have erupted sporadically through India’s 70- Unnao, police stood back as members blocked chief minister was to impose a ban on Uttar girls in the street. year history. Adityanath declined to be inter- traffic, honked horns and shouted pro-Hindu Pradesh slaughterhouses that operated with- Their organization is the Hindu Yuva Vahini viewed for this article. slogans on the busy streets. Muslims who came out licences. Most Indian states have laws that (Hindu Youth Force), a private militia set up in “Blood can be shed, and Muslims will feel out to watch did so quietly from their doorways. ban the slaughter of cows, considered sacred 2002 by , a local priest and the pain,” Pankaj Singh, a senior leader of the by Hindus, while buffalo slaughter requires per- Volunteers help survivors and retrieve victims from a politician, to assert the dominance of India’s Hindu Youth Force, told Reuters in an interview Hindu right, Hindu radical mission from state governments. passenger bus that fell in a ravine killing dozens in main religion which he felt was being eroded on the sidelines of the rally in Unnao, an hour’s Modi himself is the product of the Hindu Butchers in Uttar Pradesh have long com- Carranglan township, Nueva Ecija province, northern by minority faiths. Since Adityanath’s promotion drive southwest of the capital Lucknow. Such right, coming from the BJP and its powerful plained that authorities failed to issue new Philippines yesterday. —AP last month to chief minister of Uttar Pradesh comments have sent a chill through some in parent movement, Rashtriya Swayamsevak licences, although the outgoing government state, home to 220 million people of which a the Muslim community, on the defensive in Sangh (RSS), that nurtured him early in his allowed them to continue operating anyway, At least 26 die as bus fifth are Muslims, the group has become Uttar Pradesh since this year’s election in which career. But since sweeping to power in 2014, he ensuring employment and food for the Muslims plunges into ravine emboldened, openly proclaiming its Hindu Adityanath rallied the Hindu majority and deliv- has focused on economic reforms that he who dominate the industry. —Reuters MANILA: At least 26 people were killed and 21 injured when a passenger bus crashed into a deep ravine in the mountain- ous northern Philippines yesterday, authorities said. The bus ‘Dirty’ Jakarta election looms; plunged about 24 meters in the upland province of Nueva Ecija before noon after its brakes failed while travelling on a religious politics resurfaces winding road, police and local officials said. “The vehicle is totally wrecked,” said senior inspector Robert De Guzman, JAKARTA: Luar Batang is one of the over the Quran comments erupted, said police chief of the town of Carranglan where the accident Indonesian capital’s oldest neighbor- one woman who did not want to be occurred. The impact appeared to have ripped the top off the hoods, founded in the 17th century to named, sitting outside a small shack amid vehicle, he added. “Almost all of the passengers, both dead collect tolls from ships sailing in from the the rubble. “We see it as a gift from God,” and injured, were found outside the bus.” Authorities were still Java Sea when the city was the centre of she said, describing the slur as a means to investigating the cause of the accident but Carranglan Mayor the Dutch East Indies spice trade. Now, it bring down Purnama. Mary Abad told ABS-CBN television there were 60 passengers is being demolished and many of its resi- onboard although the bus had a capacity of only 45. Abad dents are being evicted to make way for a Neck and neck race added the wounded, some of whom sustained critical injuries, giant seawall meant to keep Jakarta from Opinion surveys show Purnama run- were rushed to nearby hospitals. sinking under rising sea levels. That has ning neck and neck with his challenger made it ground zero for the election of Anies Baswedan, who, like some 85 per- Laos drug kingpin denies the city’s governor, dubbed one of the cent of Jakartans, is a Muslim. Purnama, Thai smuggling charges most divisive election campaigns 50, inherited the governorship after Joko Indonesia has ever seen. Widodo was elected president in 2014. BANGKOK: An alleged Laos drug lord linked to some of The incumbent governor, Basuki “Ahok” His brash talking style, a contrast with the Thailand’s rich and famous denied being a major player in Purnama, was cruising towards a decisive soft-spoken Javanese politicians who the regional narcotics trade when he appeared in a election victory last September when he dominate the ruling class, has grated on Bangkok court yesterday. Xaysana Keopimpha, 42, was allegedly criticized a verse from the Quran some voters. Purnama won the first round BEIJING: Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European nabbed by Thai police on his way through Bangkok’s main that warns Muslims against allying with of voting in February in a three-way race airport in January, shining a rare spotlight on communist Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Chinese Premier Li Christians and Jews. Hardline Islamist with 43 percent of the ballots to set up Laos’ shadowy role in the Southeast Asian pill trade. Keqiang attend a meeting at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in groups responded with mass protests today’s second round with Basedan, who Narcotics cops alleged he was an “international drug king- Beijing yesterday. —AFP demanding that Purnama, an ethnic won 40 percent. pin” and trumpeted his capture in a part of the world Chinese and Christian, be prosecuted. The campaign has been “the dirtiest, where major cartel figures are not big names in criminal Few western leaders to Police eventually did charge him with most polarizing and most divisive the folklore and are rarely caught. The heavy-set Xaysana faces blasphemy. It was Purnama who ordered nation has ever seen,” the Jakarta Post said a string of charges including drug smuggling and posses- the evictions from Luar Batang’s slums to in an editorial yesterday. Calling the capital sion-mainly of methamphetamine, which is known in Thai attend Chinese summit make way for one of his many infrastruc- “the barometer of Indonesia’s political as “yaba” or crazy medicine for its effect on addicts. “He ture projects aimed at modernizing this pulse”, the daily said the election would denies all the charges,” said his lawyer Vorakon BEIJING: Leaders of 28 countries are set suspicions. The program aims to build clogged and chaotic city. have a bearing on the next presidential Phongtanakul, adding his client had also backtracked on a to attend a Chinese summit next month roads, railways, ports and other infra- Many of those who filled the streets of election in 2019. Police on Monday confession he allegedly signed in police custody. showcasing President Xi Jinping’s signa- structure along the ancient Silk Road’s Jakarta to protest against him late last blocked plans by hardline Islamist groups ture foreign policy initiative, but few will maritime and overland routes with close year were among the displaced, and vio- to guard polling booths, citing the risk of lence broke out in Luar Batang after one clashes after a campaign fraught with reli- Lanka death toll hits hail from major Western countries. to $100 billion in funding. 30 as garbage piles up Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said The program is closely linked to the of those demonstrations. Luar Batang res- gious tensions, and said around 66,000 yesterday that Vladimir Putin of Russia, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, idents had just about given up their fight police and military personnel will be COLOMBO: Hundreds of tons of rotting garbage piled up in Sri Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and China’s version of a global financial against evictions when the controversy deployed on voting day. —Reuters Lanka’s capital yesterday after the main rubbish dump was shut Spain’s Mariano Rajoy are among those institution that faced similar Western following an accident that killed at least 30 people. Authorities slated to appear next month in Beijing to skepticism upon its formation last year. sealed the massive 300-foot (90-metre) rubbish mountain on discuss Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” pro- In the year since, the bank has succeed- the northeastern edge of Colombo after it collapsed Friday, gram to stitch together the Eurasian con- ed in attracting US allies as members, destroying 145 homes nearby and burying victims in a garbage tinent with infrastructure investment. including Germany, Canada and Britain, landslide. Military spokesman Roshan Seneviratne said hun- The May 14-15 summit is seen as a although Washington continues to dreds of troops were still searching for six people missing since the accident, but authorities were not hopeful of finding any measure of China’s international pres- maintain its distance. Xi unveiled the survivors four days on. The Colombo Municipal Council was tige at a time when Xi has positioned first outlines of his Belt and Road plan scrambling for new locations to dump the roughly 800 tons of China as a rising outward-looking as early as 2013, but the inaugural sum- garbage produced every day in the capital, as crows and stray regional power, and as questions have mit next month will provide the Chinese dogs picked through bags of reeking garbage left on city arisen over President Donald Trump’s leader the most high-profile stage so far streets. The council sought permission yesterday from a local commitment to maintaining the United to deliver a focused pitch to a world magistrate to access another tip outside the city limits, promis- States’ traditional global leadership. audience. ing it would clear the four-day backlog of trash within 24 hours. Wang said leaders from France and “This is an economic cooperation Germany will not attend due to their forum, an international cooperation domestic election schedules, not platform that everyone is paying atten- Police helicopter carrying because they snubbed China. tion to, supports and hopes to partici- 12 crashes in east Turkey “This is a positive, cooperative con- pate in,” Wang said, characterizing the ISTANBUL: A Turkish police helicopter with 12 people on ference, it shouldn’t be politicized,” summit as an effort to uphold globaliza- board, including police officers and a judge, crashed yes- Wang told reporters in Beijing, in tion. Aside from Putin, other Chinese terday in eastern Turkey, the local governor’s office said. response to a question asking if China allies including Pakistani President The chopper, whose passengers included seven police- felt insulted by the absence of top lead- Nawaz Sharif and Myanmar’s Aung San men, one judge and one non-commissioned officer, ers from the US and its allies, including Suu Kyi will attend, as will Philippine crashed at around 0840 GMT in the eastern province of Japan, Britain and Australia. China has President Rodrigo Duterte, Indonesian BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: One of four Acehnese teen gets whipped for Tunceli, the governor’s office said in a statement. The oth- sought to frame Xi’s vision for the President Joko Widodo and Italian Prime spending time in close proximity with her boyfriend who is not her hus- er three people on board were crew members. No signals China-led development program as an Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Wang said. band, which is against Sharia law. Aceh on Sumatra island began imple- were received from the Sikorsky helicopter approximately 10 minutes after it took off. It is believed to have crashed inclusive, mutually beneficial project British Finance Minister Philip Hammond menting Sharia law after being granted special autonomy in 2001, an rather than a statement of geopolitical will also attend in the place of Prime because of unfavourable weather conditions, according to attempt by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running sepa- the statement. ambitions that should arouse Western Minister Theresa May. —AP ratist insurgency. —AFP