Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja's brother charged over 'terror' notebook

Agencies
December 4, 2018

The brother of Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has been charged with attempting to pervert justice and forgery after he allegedly used fake documents containing a terror plot to kill senior politicians to “set up” his colleague over a personal grievance.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that Arsalan Khawaja had been formally charged after he was arrested on Tuesday as part of an investigation into a fake terrorism “hit list” found in a university notebook.

He faces one count of attempting to pervert justice and one count of forgery for allegedly making a false document. Khawaja has been refused bail and will appear in Parramatta Local Court later today.

Khawaja had previously been questioned by police in relation to the notebook, which resulted in the wrongful arrest of PhD student Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen in August.

“We believe that this was planned and it was calculated,” Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said.

“We have no information to suggest that there is any ongoing threat to the community arising from our inquiries into the matter.”

Nizamdeen, a student from the University of New South Wales, was falsely accused of plotting Islamic State-inspired lone-wolf attacks on a list of targets including the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House.

The prosecution relied almost exclusively on a notebook police said contained details of the plot.

But the case fell apart when handwriting experts were unable to link the writing in the notebook to Nizamdeen, and in October the charges were dropped. Police then set about investigating who had written the fake hit list. In October, officers raided Khawaja’s home in the Sydney suburb of Westmead.

Police will allege Khawaja attempted to set up Nizamdeen because of a dispute over a girl. On Tuesday Willing said police believe he was “motivated, in part, by a personal grievance.”

He told reporters he felt sorry for Nizamdeen, but did not apologise.

“We feel very sorry for [Nizamdeen] and what was happened to him but what we will be alleging is that he was set up in a planned and calculated manner,” he told reporters in Sydney.

Khawaja was arrested in Parramatta, western Sydney, on Tuesday. He was taken to the Parramatta police area command where police said he would be questioned in relation to an alleged attempt to pervert justice, and forgery by making a false document.

In a statement earlier on Tuesday New South Wales police confirmed a 39-year-old man had been arrested as part of a joint counter-terrorism investigation. “The arrest relates to documents allegedly found on University of NSW grounds in August this year containing plans to facilitate terrorism attacks,” the statement read.

Arsalan Khawaja was granted bail during an appearance at Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday afternoon.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Jan 27: Bidders for Air India Ltd. will need to absorb $3.26 billion of its debt, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration tries once again to sell the national carrier.

The entire company will be sold but effective control needs to stay with Indian nationals, according to preliminary terms published Monday. Bids are invited by March 17 with Ernst & Young LLP India as transaction adviser.

Air India, which started in 1932 as a mail carrier before winning commercial popularity, saw its fortunes fade with the emergence of cutthroat low-cost competition. The state-run airline has been unprofitable for over a decade and is saddled with more than $8 billion in debt.

Indian regulations allow a foreign airline to buy as much as 49% of a local carrier, while overseas investors other than airlines can buy an entire carrier. The government didn’t find a single bidder when it tried to sell Air India in 2018.

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News Network
March 11,2020

New Delhi, Mar 11: According to the Union health ministry, there are 62 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the stand of the Centre and the Delhi government on a PIL seeking proper and adequate measures to combat coronavirus.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar issued notice to the Ministry of Health and the Delhi government seeking their replies on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate.

The petition, by lawyer Triveni Potekar, seeks directions to the Centre and the Delhi government to make available important and relevant information on access to and availability of medical facilities for testing and treatment for the coronavirus disease.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Mumbai, Jan 30: The Shiv Sena on Thursday endorsed Union home minister Amit Shah's view that alleged inflammatory statements made by Sharjeel Imam, an anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) activist, were dangerous.

No politics should be done on the issue, and such "pest" afflicting the country should be finished off, it said.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday in connection with his speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and in Aligarh during anti-CAA protests.

He has been booked for sedition, among other offences.

In an editorial published in its mouthpiece `Saamana', the Sena, a former ally of the BJP, said, "We agree with union home minister's comments that Sharjeel Imam's alleged words of separation are more dangerous than that of Kanhaiya Kumar."

Kumar, former student leader from Jawaharlal Nehru University, had been arrested over alleged separatist slogans shouted during a protest on varsity campus.

The Sena, which has formed alliance with the Congress and NCP to come to power in Maharashtra, is often seen walking a tightrope to preserve its credentials as a pro-Hindutva party.

"The union home ministry, while initiating action against Imam, should not indulge in politics and try to finish off this pest that is afflicting our country," the editorial said.

"One must find out why such language of breaking up this country into pieces is being used by the educated youth of this country more and more frequently. Who is spewing such venom into the mind of Sharjeel who did his graduation from IIT-B and now pursuing PhD from JNU?" the Sena asked.

"Even people involved in Elgar Parishad at Pune are facing sedition charges and these people have been known as intellectuals and are well-known personalities," said the party.

"A conspiracy to bring about a conflict between Hindus and Muslims and ensure continuance of anarchy and civil war as in Iraq and Afghanistan exists. The boost for such activities is coming from a 'political laboratory'," the editorial said.

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