Dawood's henchman an Indian, not Pakistani; to be extradited: Thai court

Agencies
August 9, 2018

Bangkok, Aug 9: In a major diplomatic victory for India over Pakistan, a criminal court in Thailand has ruled that a henchman of Dawood Ibrahim's criminal syndicate is not a Pakistani, but an Indian citizen.

Sayyed Muzakkir Muddassar Hussain, who is also known by aliases Mohammad Saleem and Munna Jhingra, is a senior D-Company operative and is a close associate of India's most wanted underworld criminals, Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel.

He entered Bangkok on a fake Pakistani passport and has been in a prison there since September 2000 for plotting to kill Chhota Rajan, rival of Dawood Ibrahim.

Jhingra, whose father Muddassar Nussain had deep links in 1993 Mumbai blast, had the patronage of the ISI, which had been pushing for a reduction in the sentence given to Jhingra through sustained efforts by the Pakistan Embassy, not just through the Thai Foreign Ministry but also through informal channels.

As a result, the Pakistan Embassy succeeded in obtaining two Royal pardons for Munna Jhingra and his jail sentence was reduced to 34 years.

Subsequently, the Pakistani Mission in Thailand gained two more Royal pardons, thereby, reducing Munna Jhingra's sentence to 18 years in 2016.

Pakistan authorities simultaneously also worked for extradition of Munna Jhingra to Pakistan under the Prisoner's Exchange Treaty between Pakistan and Thailand, a move that India contested and filed a strong extradition claim. The matter went to the Thai court.

Meanwhile, Jhingra received an amnesty under Thai laws and was to be released in December 2016. But, as the matter was subjudice, he was not extradited.

However, on Wednesday, the court ruled that based on finger print evidence submitted by India, it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that Munna Jhingra is an Indian national.

The court also pulled up Pakistan for submitting concocted evidence through Pakistani embassy in Thailand.

The proceedings witnessed a high voltage drama with Jhingra reacting violently and abusing the judge after the announcement of the verdict. The Pakistani embassy official also reacted angrily.

Islamabad now has 30 days to file an appeal, failing which India has to repatriate the prisoner within 90 days.

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News Network
June 8,2020

Hundreds of thousands of people across the world are joining the anti-racism demonstrations days after the killing of George Floyd in United Sates. 

The protests are being held in cities including London, Manchester, Cardiff, Leicester and Sheffield.

Demonstrators attached ropes to the statue of Edward Colston before pulling it down to cheers and roars of approval from the crowd. Images on social media show the statue was eventually rolled into the city's harbour. 

It was not the only statue targeted on Sunday. In Brussels, protesters clambered onto the statue of former King Leopold II and chanted "reparations".

The word "shame" was also graffitied on the monument, reference perhaps to the fact that Leopold is said to have reigned over the mass death of 10 million Congolese.

In London, thousands of people congregated around the US embassy for the second day running.

While protests were mainly peaceful, there were some scuffles near the office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and outside the Parliament gates.

In Hong Kong, about 20 people staged a rally in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement on Sunday outside the US consulate in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

"It's a global issue," Quinland Anderson, a 28-year-old British citizen living in Hong Kong, told The Associated Press news agency.

"We have to remind ourselves despite all we see going on in the US and in the other parts of the world, Black lives do indeed matter."

Several dozen demonstrators took part in a Black Lives Matter protest held in Tel Aviv's central Rabin Square.

A rally in Rome's sprawling People's Square was noisy but peaceful, with the majority of protesters wearing masks to protect against coronavirus. Participants listened to speeches and held up handmade placards saying "Black Lives Matter" and "It's a White Problem".

In Spain, several thousand people gathered on the streets of Barcelona and at the US embassy in Madrid.

Many in Madrid carried homemade signs reading "Black Lives Matter", "Human rights for all" and "Silence is pro-racist".

"We are not only doing this for our brother George Floyd," said Thimbo Samb, a spokesman for the group that organised the events in Spain mainly through social media. "Here in Europe, in Spain, where we live, we work, we sleep and pay taxes, we also suffer racism."

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June 1,2020

Washington, Jun 1: As protesters gathered outside the White House on Friday night in Washington DC, US President Donald Trump was briefly taken to the White House underground bunker, The New York Times reported citing a person having firsthand knowledge about the incident.

Trump was there for less than an hour before being brought upstairs. After hundreds of people surged towards the White House on Friday, Secret Service and the United States Park Police officers sought to block them.

Trump's team was surprised by the protests that were witnessed outside the White House on Friday night, according to the US daily. It is, however, unclear if Melania Trump and Barron Trump were also taken down with him.

in response to the continuing protests against the death of African-American man George Floyd in police custody.

National Guard members have been activated in 15 states and Washington, DC with another 2,000 prepared to activate if needed.

Demonstrators across the United States have been protesting since May 25, when George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died under the police custody in the city of Minneapolis.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Jan 23: Hundreds of Central Americans trying to reach the United States were stuck at the Mexico-Guatemala border on Wednesday after the Mexican government beefed up security to meet US demands to contain migrant flows.

Under sustained pressure from President Donald Trump, Mexico's government has adopted tougher measures to reduce the number of people heading towards the U.S. border.

Migrants in Tecun Uman, on the Guatemalan side of the border, were taken by surprise.

"We thought we'd be allowed through just like with the October caravan when they reached Tijuana," said Honduran migrant Ritzy Anabel, who did not give her surname.

"People from Mexico and Guatemala treated them well. But now it's changed because Mexicans don't want (us) to enter."

Many Central Americans migrants heading north are fleeing economic hardship and violence at home. A large caravan of migrants crossed into Mexico and went north in October 2018. Migrants crossing into Mexico earlier this week faced tear gas from security forces, who delivered a firmer response than in previous mass movements at the border.

Even so, about 1,000 migrants, most of them from Honduras, managed to reach Mexican soil on Tuesday. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said several hundred of the new arrivals were immediately deported on planes and buses.

On Wednesday, Mexican authorities said that 460 Honduran migrants were deported throughout the day. Other migrants from the group, including families traveling with children, were pondering their next moves.

Honduran Carlos Amador said that while some of his compatriots were returning home, others were hoping for positive news.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to punish Mexico and Central American countries if they fail to clamp down on the migrant flows. That has resulted in a series of agreements aimed at delivering on Trump's campaign promises to curb immigration.

Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf called the measures put in place by the Mexican National Guard "effective", adding that dozens of his personnel was on the ground in Central America assisting local immigration and security officials. Trump tweeted: "Sorry, if you come you will be immediately sent back!"

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